The foreign ministers of South Korea, the United States, and Japan are set to convene in Manila this week for discussions on North Korea and to bolster three-way economic and security collaboration. South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will engage with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi during the ASEAN-related ministerial meetings in the Philippine capital. This meeting follows their recent talks at the NATO summit in Ankara, focusing on North Korea, trilateral security cooperation, economic partnerships, and global developments.
The upcoming trilateral meeting aims to address key issues concerning North Korea, strengthen security ties, enhance economic cooperation, and deliberate on the Middle East crisis along with other regional and global matters. In their previous meeting, the three ministers reiterated their dedication to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and committed to sustaining dialogue with Pyongyang. Additionally, they signed a memorandum of cooperation to facilitate the deployment of small modular reactors in third countries, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.
During his two-day visit to the Philippines, starting Tuesday, Minister Cho will participate in various ASEAN-related meetings, including the Korea-ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting, the ASEAN Plus Three ministerial meeting involving South Korea, Japan, and China, the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) foreign ministers’ meeting, and the East Asia Summit (EAS) foreign ministers’ meeting. Cho is expected to emphasize Seoul’s dedication to strengthening ties with ASEAN and outline South Korea’s initiatives for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula. Additionally, bilateral discussions are planned with Australia, Thailand, New Zealand, Brunei, and the Philippines, alongside separate talks with the US, Japan, and China on the sidelines of the multilateral gatherings.
