Yoon Suk Yeol, the president of South Korea, left for the US on Thursday for a meeting with the presidents of the US and Japan as the three nations look to strengthen their ties despite growing tensions over China and North Korea.
Yoon heads to US for summit: Yoon, a conservative, has made repairing ties with Tokyo a priority in his foreign policy after his predecessor’s administration’s handling of legal challenges involving Koreans forced to work in Japan’s wartime factories, trade disagreements, and long-standing tensions over a disputed island caused a deterioration in relations.
Disputes that date back to Japan’s rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945 have long soured relations between South Korea and Japan.
According to Yoon on Tuesday, the meeting will mark a “new milestone” in trilateral cooperation.
Senior US sources said that he will meet with US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland to announce a number of cooperation initiatives on technology, education, and military.
Kim Tae-hyo, South Korea’s deputy national security adviser, predicted that the leaders will issue at least two joint statements as a result of the meeting.
In order to secure better cooperation on matters like North Korea and China, the United States, which has distinct alliances with South Korea and Japan, has been pressuring both nations to strengthen their relations.
“On Monday, North Korea’s state media report that its leader Kim Jong Un, amidst South Korea and the US preparing for their yearly military exercises, urge for an increase in missile manufacturing to secure ‘overwhelming military power’ and to be prepare for war.”
However, Yoon left hours after finishing the lengthy burial procedures for his father, who passed away on Tuesday at the age of 92.