Leaders of US, Japan and South Korea to meet for high-profile trilateral summit

 

US President Joe Biden is scheduled to convene a significant summit at Camp David in Maryland on Friday, where he will welcome South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. This summit is anticipated to mark the beginning of a new era in trilateral relations, according to officials from the three nations.

This occasion will mark the first formal joint summit for the three leaders, moving beyond the relatively informal discussions that have taken place in recent months during various international gatherings, including the 2022 NATO summit in Madrid, Spain.

Not long ago, the idea of such a meeting would have seemed unlikely, given the complex history between the two US allies due to Japan’s occupation of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. Yoon has been navigating this challenging terrain as he endeavors to improve relations with Tokyo.

Concerns have been raised by analysts about strained relations between Japan and South Korea influencing the United States’ approach to China and the broader Indo-Pacific region. However, the evidently strengthening ties between these two countries present a new opportunity for the US.

Amid an escalation in North Korean weapons testing and China’s activities in the disputed region, this trilateral summit takes on heightened significance. The choice of Camp David in Maryland as the meeting venue holds historical weight, as it has been a site for landmark agreements and contentious negotiations in the past.