The Korea-Japan-China Summit Just Beginning... Yoon's Sequential Korea-Japan and Korea-China Talks on the 26th

President Yoon holds separate talks with Li Chang and Prime Minister Kishida
Summit on the 27th to discuss six key focus areas

On November 16 last year (local time), President Yoon Suk-yeol, who visited the United States to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, is shaking hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and taking a commemorative photo at a Korea-Japan summit held at a hotel in San Francisco.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Korea-Japan-China summit will be held in Seoul on the 26th and 27th. It is the first time in 4 years and 5 months since the 8th summit was held in Chengdu, China in December 2019. Attention is focused on whether the trilateral relations will be fully normalized through this meeting and whether the cooperation system in areas such as the economy can be strengthened.

According to the Presidential Office, President Yoon Suk-yeol will hold bilateral talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Yongsan Presidential Office on the first day of the summit.

In the Korea-China bilateral talks, discussions are expected on enhancing strategic communication between the two countries, expanding economic and trade cooperation, creating a friendly investment environment in China, promoting human and cultural exchanges, and regional and global issues including the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

Also, in the Korea-Japan bilateral talks, the agenda is expected to include the situation on the Korean Peninsula, Korea-US-Japan cooperation, and regional and global cooperation measures including the Indo-Pacific region. In particular, the recent controversy over the pressure to sell shares of Naver Line Yahoo with Japan may also be discussed.

After the bilateral talks, President Yoon will preside over an official welcome dinner attended by delegations from Korea, Japan, and China.

On the morning of the 27th, the Korea-Japan-China summit will be held.

The meeting will discuss cooperation measures in six key areas: human exchange, promoting sustainable development through cooperation on climate change response, economic and trade cooperation, cooperation on health and aging response, cooperation on science and technology digital transformation, and cooperation on disaster and safety.

The results of the discussions are expected to be included in a joint declaration by the three countries and announced.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is delivering the opening remarks at the 'AI Seoul Summit' held via video conference at the Blue House's State Guest House on the 21st.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Most of the summit time is known to be devoted to economic and livelihood relations, trade and supply chain cooperation, and measures to revitalize investment. Sensitive issues such as North Korean denuclearization and inter-Korean relations were excluded from the official agenda. The policy is to focus more on cooperation measures such as the economy and human exchange rather than topics that are difficult to agree on in a short time.

Attention is focused on whether relations among the three countries can improve through this meeting. Recently, relations among Korea, China, and Japan have remained strained due to the intensification of US-China conflicts and the strengthening of the Korea-US-Japan versus North Korea-China-Russia alignment.

Kim Tae-hyo, the first deputy director of the National Security Office, said, "This summit will be a turning point for the three countries to fully restore and normalize the cooperation system," adding, "It will be an opportunity to secure a future-oriented and practical cooperation momentum that the people of the three countries can feel the benefits of."

A joint press conference by the Korea-Japan-China leaders is also expected to be held after the meeting. Afterwards, the three leaders will attend a business summit, each delivering a speech and encouraging businesspeople.

Starting with the Korea-Japan-China summit, President Yoon's summit diplomacy schedule will be in full swing.

President Yoon will meet with Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who will visit Korea as a state guest on the 28th, and on the 4th and 5th of next month, he will attend the Korea-Africa summit held in Seoul.