South Korea, US, and Japan Summit Expected by Year-End

The leaders of South Korea, the United States, and Japan are anticipated to hold a trilateral summit toward the end of this year, as indicated by South Korea’s national security adviser.

Earlier, Seoul’s presidential office reported that US President Joe Biden proposed this summit during a message conveyed to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol via Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the ASEAN summit in Laos.

If the summit materializes, it will follow the historic trilateral meeting held at Camp David last year and will feature President Yoon, President Biden, and Japan’s new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

National Security Adviser Shin Won-sik noted in an interview with TV Chosun, “If the trilateral summit takes place, it will likely occur around the end of the year, after the APEC and G20 meetings.” He confirmed that a consensus has been reached to hold the summit before the year concludes.

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit and the Group of 20 summit are both scheduled for mid-November.

Regarding North Korea’s recent allegations that South Korea sent unmanned drones, Shin stated, “It would not be wise to respond to every single claim made by North Korea.” North Korea claimed that South Korea dispatched unmanned drones carrying anti-North propaganda leaflets over Pyongyang on October 3, as well as on Wednesday and Thursday. South Korean Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun, however, could not verify these claims.

Shin also mentioned that it seems North Korea may not have included leader Kim Jong-un’s “two hostile states” doctrine in its revised constitution. Earlier this week, North Korea amended its socialist constitution during a significant parliamentary session but has not clarified whether it removed unification-related clauses or defined its territorial boundaries, including maritime borders, in accordance with Kim’s directives.