{"id":2208830,"date":"2025-03-24T08:00:13","date_gmt":"2025-03-23T23:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?p=2208830"},"modified":"2025-03-23T22:32:55","modified_gmt":"2025-03-23T13:32:55","slug":"south-korea-japan-and-china-seek-closer-ties-at-trilateral-ministerial-summit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2025\/03\/south-korea-japan-and-china-seek-closer-ties-at-trilateral-ministerial-summit\/","title":{"rendered":"South Korea, Japan and China seek closer ties at trilateral ministerial summit"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mofa.go.kr\/www\/brd\/m_4080\/view.do?seq=375958&amp;page=1&amp;pitem=10\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">met<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with his Japanese and Chinese counterparts in Tokyo on Saturday for the 11th trilateral foreign ministers\u2019 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the sidelines, Cho held separate bilateral meetings with Japanese Foreign Minister <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mofa.go.kr\/www\/brd\/m_4080\/view.do?seq=375959&amp;page=1&amp;pitem=10\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Takeshi Iwaya<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and Chinese Foreign Minister <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mofa.go.kr\/www\/brd\/m_4080\/view.do?seq=375956&amp;page=1&amp;pitem=10\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wang Yi<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. 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\u2019s 10th anniversary. However, Cho raised concerns over Chinese maritime activity in the Yellow Sea, stressing that South Korea\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>WHY IT MATTERS<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The trilateral meeting exposed diverging positions on North Korea. South Korea and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mofa.go.jp\/mofaj\/press\/release\/pressit_000001_01928.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Japan<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> pushed for a stronger trilateral stance on Pyongyang\u2019s nuclear and missile programs, calling for full implementation of UN Security Council sanctions and pressure on North Korea\u2019s cyber and military cooperation with Russia. However, China remained cautious and resisted stronger language. Additionally, South Korea\u2019s direct challenge to China over its increased naval activity in the Yellow Sea reflects growing friction over maritime rights and regional security.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While Wang Yi expressed willingness to maintain dialogue, Beijing\u2019s softer stance on North Korea and growing maritime disputes with Seoul will likely compel the ROK to continue to strengthen security ties with the U.S. and Japan, potentially complicating Seoul\u2019s broader relationship with Beijing and future trilateral coordination.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, economic cooperation is one area where all three countries are in broad alignment, with Beijing in particular emphasizing economic integration as a foundation for political stability. South Korea\u2019s decision to accelerate bilateral FTA talks with China may lead to economic benefits, but the meeting did not include contentious discussions such as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2025\/03\/south-korea-tightens-anti-dumping-measures-on-chinese-steel-imports\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">anti-dumping duties or tariffs<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Meanwhile, Xi Jinping\u2019s potential visit to South Korea during the APEC summit in Gyeongju could lead to further diplomatic and economic outcomes.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-tags\"><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/tag\/business-economy\/\"><span class=\"tag\">Business &amp; Economy<\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/tag\/culture-society\/\"><span class=\"tag\">Culture &amp; Society<\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/tag\/defense-security\/\"><span class=\"tag\">Defense &amp; Security<\/span><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/tag\/inter-korean-foreign-relations\/\"><span class=\"tag\">Inter-Korean &amp; Foreign Relations<\/span><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul met with his Japanese and Chinese counterparts in Tokyo on Saturday for the 11th trilateral foreign ministers\u2019 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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10407,"featured_media":2208831,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[24,25,26,28],"class_list":["post-2208830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-briefings","tag-business-economy","tag-culture-society","tag-defense-security","tag-inter-korean-foreign-relations"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>South Korea, Japan and China seek closer ties at trilateral ministerial summit - Korea Pro<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2025\/03\/south-korea-japan-and-china-seek-closer-ties-at-trilateral-ministerial-summit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"South Korea, Japan and China seek closer ties at trilateral ministerial summit - Korea Pro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul met with his Japanese and Chinese counterparts in Tokyo on Saturday for the 11th trilateral foreign ministers\u2019 meeting, where the three sides pledged to deepen economic and political cooperation despite lingering tensions over North Korea and maritime issues. 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