Seoul confirms trilateral meeting with Tokyo, Beijing in May

A trilateral summit with South Korea, China and Japan will be held in Japan in May, Seoul’s presidential office said Wednesday.

The trilateral meeting, the date of which has yet to be specified, was confirmed by Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom in a statement regarding President Moon Jae-in’s meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono in Seoul on Wednesday. 

In the statement, Kim quoted Moon as saying that he has supported Tokyo’s efforts to arrange the trilateral meeting scheduled for next month. It will be the first time the leaders of the three countries gather since 2015.

As for Moon’s meeting with Kono, which followed the Japanese diplomat’s meeting with Seoul’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, Kim said that Moon stressed the importance of South Korea-Japan cooperation. Kim also said that Moon urged a “constructive role” on part of Japan in the drive to achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and asked for Tokyo’s support in matters concerning the inter-Korean, and US-North Korea summits.

The inter-Korean summit is set to be held on April 27, while the Washington-Pyongyang meeting is slated for some time in May or early June.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)