South Korea: Vice FM to visit US, Japan this week for talks on trilateral cooperation

Seoul, Dec 22 (IANS) A senior diplomat will visit the US and Japan this week to discuss cooperation between the three countries and North Korea-related issues, Seoul’s foreign ministry said on Sunday.

First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun will embark on the five-day trip later Sunday that will first take him to Washington for talks with his US counterpart on bilateral ties, trilateral cooperation with Japan, and North Korea, according to the ministry.

He will then visit Tokyo for vice ministerial-level talks on the three-way cooperation with the United States and preparations for the 60th anniversary of the normalisation of relations between South Korea and Japan next year, Yonhap news agency reported.

The trip comes after President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment on December 14 over his short-lived imposition of martial law, which has raised concerns over Seoul’s policy coordination with Washington and Tokyo, especially with the incoming US administration of Donald Trump, set to take office next month.

Under Yoon, South Korea has sought to deepen trilateral security cooperation with the US and Japan amid evolving nuclear and missile threats posed by North Korea.

To address uncertainties posed by the incoming Trump administration, the foreign ministry has set up a task force to come up with response measures to the new administration’s foreign policy.

During this month’s talks, the three countries, South Korea, the US and Japan acknowledged the need to explore ways to collectively contribute to peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, according to Seoul’s foreign ministry. The meeting marked the second of its kind after its inaugural session in January.

The talks took place as South Korea, the US and Japan sought to deepen trilateral security cooperation amid evolving North Korean nuclear and missile threats.

–IANS

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