S. Korea, US, Japan hold first trilateral working-level talks on humanitarian aid

South Korea, the United States and Japan have held their first trilateral working-level talks on ways to bolster cooperation in humanitarian aid policies, in a follow-up to the summit of the three countries' leaders in August, Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday.

The two-day policy dialogue that ended Monday in Honolulu, Hawaii, was led by Won Do-yeon, director general for development cooperation; Michele Sumilas, assistant to the administrator of the bureau for planning, learning and resource management at the US Agency for International Development; and Endo Kazuya, director general for the Japanese foreign ministry's international cooperation.

The dialogue was launched as part of a follow-up to the Camp David summit among the leaders of the US and its two Asian allies, in which they agreed to beef up tripartite cooperation in security, economy and other areas, including development policy.

At the policy dialogue, the three countries had in-depth discussions on ways to boost coordination in development policy, including cooperation among their implementing bodies, the ministry said.

They reaffirmed the agreement the leaders reached at the Camp David summit and agreed to explore the possibility of expanding the aid cooperation into new areas, such as cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.

As like-minded partners, they agreed to jointly respond to the global polycrisis, including the war in Ukraine and climate change, and work together to further deepen the partnership in development by fully utilizing the strength each country has in the field.

Won also met separately with Sumilas and Kazuya for bilateral talks.

The three countries agreed to hold the dialogue on a biennial basis. South Korea will host the next gathering in Seoul in 2025. (Yonhap)