Most notably, Yoon in his meeting with Li proposed the idea of pursuing a trilateral summit involving Japan by the end of the year in Seoul, a suggestion that Li responded favorably to. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also agreed to push forward with the trilateral summit in a separate<\/a> meeting. This proposal comes on the heels of increased U.S.-ROK-Japan cooperation, such as agreeing to regularize joint military exercises and summit meetings, to which China has been vocal about its concern. Despite South Korea’s ongoing invitations for a Seoul visit by President Xi and a trilateral summit with Japan, China has not yet taken definitive steps to make it happen.<\/p>\n
Why It Matters<\/strong><\/p>\n
Although Sunday\u2019s meeting between Yoon and Li concluded without major incident, its success in facilitating a trilateral summit in Seoul will largely depend on China\u2019s assessment of such summit’s strategic value and how it perceives Seoul\u2019s foreign policy intentions. During the ASEAN and G20 summits, Yoon made statements that could be viewed as sensitive by China, such as calling on <\/a>Beijing to play a “diligent and responsible role” in deterring North Korean nuclear development and stating that increased threats from the DPRK will only bolster cooperation between the U.S., South Korea and Japan. Yoon has also commented on the South China Sea issue multiple times, which China routinely views as interference. Seoul\u2019s progressive newspapers<\/a> and the opposition party continue to criticize such moves as \u201cunbalanced\u201d and hostile against Beijing.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the presidential office in Seoul highlighted<\/a> the friendly relationship between President Yoon and U.S. President Biden throughout the G20 summit. For example, the office noted that Yoon sat next to President Biden for 90 minutes during a gala dinner<\/a>, where Biden reportedly praised Yoon’s role in facilitating the Camp David trilateral summit. The impact of Yoon’s recent diplomatic initiatives on his domestic approval ratings remains uncertain, particularly as South Korea grapples with various domestic controversies, including allegations by intelligence authorities that protests against the Fukushima water release were orchestrated by North Korea, and an ongoing hunger strike by the opposition party leader.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"