S. Korea, US, Japan eye secretariat to insulate alliance from politics

The top diplomats of South Korea, the United States and Japan agreed on Monday to advance the creation of a trilateral secretariat to institutionalize cooperation and insulate it from potential disruptions caused by leadership changes in any of the three countries. They decided to make for formal announcement of the launch of the secretariat at a summit planned before the year’s end.

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa convened in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly's "High-level Week," marking their first trilateral ministerial meeting since February.

"The three ministers agreed to strengthen efforts to institutionalize trilateral cooperation, ensuring its continuity regardless of changes in the political circumstances of each country," South Korea's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday in a statement on the meeting that took place ahead of upcoming leadership elections in both the US and Japan.

US President Joe Biden has withdrawn from seeking reelection in the Nov. 5 presidential race, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has chosen to step down and not pursue reelection as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, when his term expires Sept. 27.

"With the goal in mind, the three ministers concurred on actively working toward holding a trilateral summit between Korea, the US and Japan within the year, and to announce the establishment of a trilateral secretariat on that occasion," according to the Foreign Ministry in Seoul.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong stated during a Tuesday afternoon press briefing that the three countries "have been conducting working-level consultations to establish the Korea-US-Japan secretariat."

Lee explained that the three countries "agreed to promote setting up a coordination mechanism to further institutionalize trilateral cooperation at the vice-ministerial meeting in May."

The institutionalization of trilateral cooperation has been accelerated to sustain the momentum generated since the first-ever standalone summit between the leaders of South Korea, the US and Japan at Camp David, the US presidential retreat, in August 2023.

In a separate statement, the US State Department said Monday the three reaffirmed their shared commitment to "creating the US-Japan-ROK Trilateral Secretariat, to be finalized by the three leaders when they meet before the end of the year," referring to South Korea by the acronym of its official name, the Republic of Korea.

"This step will help institutionalize this crucial partnership into the future," the State Department added.

However, neither Seoul nor Washington provided additional details about a secretariat.

In his opening remarks, Blinken stated, "The trilat is stronger than it’s ever been, more effective than it’s ever been, and more important than it’s ever been, given the shared challenges that we face as well as the many opportunities before us to seize."

Blinken also emphasized that the three countries have "worked very hard to institutionalize this work" since the Camp David summit, expressing his expectations to continue pursuing that effort.

"We have political transitions in Japan and the United States, but this trilat irrespective of those transitions will remain vital to the future of all three of our countries – a future that we are working to shape together," Blinken said.

Echoing this sentiment, Cho described the meeting as "very important," noting that "it is a testament to our commitment to trilateral cooperation, unwavering amidst the significant political events afoot."

The trilateral meeting also addressed North Korea's disclosure of its uranium enrichment facility and the unveiling of a new 12-axle transporter erector launcher for an intercontinental ballistic missile or ICBM this month, along with concerns over illicit military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, according to the Foreign Ministry in Seoul.

Other topics of discussion included Indo-Pacific regional issues, such as the South China Sea, as well as fostering closer alignment on global issues as members of the UN Security Council, the ministry added.

The US State Department also noted that the three top diplomats "affirmed their strong opposition to any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the maritime domains of the Indo-Pacific," without explicitly naming China.

In her opening remarks, Kamikawa emphasized, "The security environment surrounding us is becoming increasingly severe, and the free and open international order based on the rule of law is facing serious challenges, and that is making our strategic collaboration more important than ever."

"We would like to further strengthen our coordination in dealing with North Korea and in a wide range of fields," Kamikawa added.