Foreign ministers of South Korea, China and Japan to meet in Tokyo, Seoul says

SEOUL/TOKYO - The foreign ministers of South Korea, China and Japan will hold a meeting in Tokyo on March 22 in the first such talks since 2023, the governments of the three East Asian nations said on March 18.

The trilateral talks come as Seoul and Tokyo, both key US allies, face growing uncertainties in domestic politics and over

President Donald Trump’s policies

amid the intensifying rivalry between the United States and China.

South Korea said its Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and his Japanese and Chinese counterparts, Mr Takeshi Iwaya and Mr Wang Yi, will discuss cooperation since the last trilateral leaders' summit in May 2024 and exchange opinions on various topics including the regional and international situation.

Although there is no plan to issue a joint statement, the top diplomats of the three countries will talk about “future-oriented cooperation”, followed by a joint press announcement, Mr Iwaya told a regular briefing.

The last trilateral meeting of foreign ministers was held

in the South Korean city of Busan in November 2023,

the ministry said. The leaders of the three countries held a summit in May last year.

On March 18, China and Japan will have the first high-level economic dialogue in six years on the sidelines of the foreign ministers’ talks, the governments said.

South Korea’s Mr Cho will also hold separate bilateral meetings with Mr Iwaya and Mr Yi on the sidelines of the trilateral meeting, its foreign ministry said. REUTERS