Maintaining Momentum on Korea-Japan-US Cooperation

After a joint visit to the memorial for Korean victims at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, President Yoon Suk Yeol called Prime Minister Kishida Fumio’s decision to join him a “brave act.” That is undoubtedly correct, but the same is true of Yoon’s own engagement with Kishida this year. On the sidelines of the G7 Summit, President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida met for the third time and demonstrated the “deep trust” between them. That progress is due in large part to Yoon’s willingness to take politically risky, but geostrategically critical, decisions that have measurably improved the Korea-Japan bilateral relationship in just a number of months.

As a result, Seoul and Tokyo are opening a new chapter in their bilateral relationship. And along with U.S. President Joe Biden, President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida could usher in a new era of trilateral cooperation between the United States, South Korea, and Japan. Prime Minister Kishida’s decision to invite President Yoon to the G7 Summit allowed the three leaders to meet briefly. Although it is unfortunate that President Biden chose to cut short his Asia trip after only a trilateral photo opportunity, the leaders will have other opportunities to meet at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit and the East Asia Summit later this year.

The United States is one of the factors driving South Korea and Japan closer together, but not in the way one might expect. Of course, Seoul and Tokyo are both allies of Washington. Yet previous U.S. efforts to improve bilateral ties have failed despite robust U.S. support. One factor that is different this time is that neither Korea nor Japan can be completely confident in the direction that the United States will take in the years ahead. It is therefore incumbent that both countries work together to keep the United States present and active in the Indo-Pacific region while hedging against the unlikely but not unthinkable possibility of U.S. disengagement.

Read the full article at Korea on Point.