Reuters-Foreign ministers of SKorea China Japan to discuss trilateral summit
November 24, 2023 2 min 294 words
这次中韩日外长会谈标志着东亚地区迎来一次关键性的外交交流。虽然此前因双边争端和疫情阻碍，三国领导人已有四年未举行峰会，但此次会谈为重启合作关系提供了契机。外长们将探讨包括筹备第九次三方峰会在内的区域合作方向，也将在此基础上展开双边对话。随着中韩日关系改善，它们与美国的安全合作也日益加深，引起中国的关注。与此同时，北韩宣布成功将首颗间谍卫星送入轨道，引发国际社会谴责。在这一紧张背景下，这次外长会谈的成果将成为东亚地区未来合作走向的关键指引。
The foreign ministers of South Korea, China and Japan will meet for talks in South Korea on Sunday, South Korea's foreign ministry said on Friday, as the three countries seek to hold their first leaders' summit in four years.
The neighbours had agreed to hold a summit every year starting in 2008 to foster regional cooperation, but the plan has been dogged by bilateral feuds and the COVID-19 pandemic. Their last summit was in 2019.
The meeting of foreign ministers, which will take place in the South Korean port city of Busan, is also the first such meeting since 2019. In September, senior diplomats from the three countries agreed to arrange a meeting of their leaders at the "earliest convenient time."
"The foreign ministers plan to exchange views extensively on the direction of development of trilateral cooperation including preparations for a ninth trilateral summit, and regional and global issues," the South Korean foreign ministry said in a statement.
The ministers will also hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines, it added.
The talks come as South Korea and Japan have seen improving ties and also deepening security cooperation with the United States amid concerns over China's growing regional influence.
Beijing has previously warned that U.S. efforts to strengthen ties with South Korea and Japan could increase tension and confrontation in the region.
The meeting in Busan also comes after North Korea said this week it had placed its first spy satellite in orbit, drawing international condemnation for violating U.N. resolutions that bar its use of technology applicable to ballistic missile programs.