Seoul, May 23 (Representative) South Korea, China and Japan will hold a trilateral summit on May 27 for the first time in over four years, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported on Thursday, citing its country’s presidential office.South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol is expected to meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Seoul, the news agency reported, citing South Korean Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo. The summit is expected to cover many cooperation areas, including the economy and trade, sustainable development, health, science and technologies, combating natural disasters, ensuring security, and people exchanges, the news agency reported, citing Kim, who said the parties will also consider both regional and international issues. “The summit will serve as a turning point for fully restoring and normalising the trilateral cooperation system among South Korea, Japan, and China… It will also provide an opportunity to recover future-oriented and practical cooperation momentum that will allow the people of the three countries to feel the benefits,” Kim was quoted by Yonhap as saying at a briefing. Yoon is also scheduled to have separate bilateral engagements with both politicians on the coming Sunday, Yonhap addedAt the summit, Japan’s Kishida plans to define areas for future multilateral cooperation, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a regular press conference on Thursday.
“We believe the opportunity to discuss regional issues is important not only for the three countries—Japan, South Korea, and China—but also for the entire region,” Hayashi said. The official also commented on the bilateral meeting between the South Korean and Japanese leaders, planned on the margins of the summit. “Japan and South Korea are important neighbours who should cooperate as partners on multiple issues that the international community faces. We intend to continue a close dialogue with South Korea so that our cooperation becomes stronger and broader and brings benefits to the peoples of both countries,” the official said. The countries are still looking into an opportunity to hold a bilateral meeting between Kishida and Li, Hayashi said, adding that Tokyo intends to promote strategic and mutually beneficial relations with Beijing, aiming to jointly build constructive and stable ties. The summit will be the first one between the three countries since December 2019, the agency reported, saying that the break was caused by COVID-19 and tensions between Seoul and Tokyo over historical disputes. The trilateral summit comes amid South Korea and Japan’s intensified cooperation with the United States in a bid to deter Beijing’s activity in the Indo-Pacific region.