South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul met with his Japanese and Chinese counterparts in Tokyo on Saturday for the 11th trilateral foreign ministers’ meeting, where the three sides pledged to deepen economic and political cooperation despite lingering tensions over North Korea and maritime issues. The ministers agreed to accelerate negotiations on a trilateral free trade agreement (FTA), expand collaboration with ASEAN, strengthen regional supply chain resilience and increase people-to-people exchanges.

On the sidelines, Cho held separate bilateral meetings with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. In the South Korea-China meeting, Cho and Wang agreed to accelerate negotiations on the South Korea-China FTA in services and investment to mark the agreement’s 10th anniversary. However, Cho raised concerns over Chinese maritime activity in the Yellow Sea, stressing that South Korea’s maritime rights must be respected, with Wang responding that mutual respect for maritime interests is important and agreeing to maintain dialogue on the issue. In the South Korea-Japan meeting, Cho and Iwaya discussed strengthening security cooperation and reinforcing trilateral alignment on North Korea and regional security, with both sides reaffirming the importance of close strategic coordination.