Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of Japan (left) shakes palms with President Lee Jae Myung of South Korea throughout a go to to the Horyu Temple in Japan’s Nara Prefecture on Jan. 14, 2026. (Yonhap)
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s emphasis not solely on bilateral cooperation with Japan and trilateral cooperation with the US but additionally on trilateral cooperation with Japan and China throughout a current summit with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is being learn as a strategic option to strike a geopolitical stability and safe a secure place for South Korea with out permitting it to get caught up within the US-China competitors or China-Japan frictions.
Throughout a briefing on Wednesday at a press middle in Osaka, Nationwide Safety Workplace chief Wi Sung-lac defined, “There have been discussions on the summit on bolstering South Korea-US and South Korea-US-Japan cooperation, and the matter of strengthening trilateral South Korea-Japan-China cooperation was additionally mentioned.”
“We’re the host nation for the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat with Japan and China. From that place, we now have established the place that efforts towards cooperation and shared prosperity [in Northeast Asia] needs to be furthered,” he added.
Participating in bilateral summits with China and Japan at a time when battle between them has reached the purpose of financial retaliation, Lee has adopted a stance of refraining from any rash intervention of their frictions.
His resolution to take a step additional this time in making trilateral cooperation a part of the summit agenda has been interpreted as signaling his purpose of enjoying a task in pursuing stability in Northeast Asia and discovering widespread floor for cooperation.
“If we solely emphasize South Korea-US-Japan cooperation and South Korea-Japan cooperation proper now in Northeast Asia, we find yourself antagonizing North Korea, China, and Russia, and rifts kind within the Northeast Asian order,” warned Lee Su-hoon, a former South Korean ambassador to Japan.
“That is concerning the president sharing a message of trilateral cooperation to forestall that type of scenario,” he harassed.
Japan’s response has been cautious.
In preliminary remarks earlier than the summit and joint press announcement, Takaichi underscored the significance of bilateral cooperation and trilateral cooperation with the US however appeared to intentionally keep away from mentioning China.
Jo Yang-hyeon, a professor on the Korea Nationwide Diplomatic Academy, mentioned, “This reveals the precise scenario that the South Korean authorities finds itself in and its response technique, as it’s obliged to pursue stability and neutrality among the many US, Japan and China, in distinction with Japan’s emphasis on reining in China by means of the US-Japan alliance.”
“Since we’re each US allies, the pursuits of South Korea and Japan align largely, however what this summit clearly confirmed is that there are variations by way of their positions on China,” he noticed.
By Jang Ye-ji, workers reporter; Park Min-hee, senior workers author; Shin Hyeong-cheol, workers reporter
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