Top envoys of Korea, Japan, China agree to cooperate on APEC summit, but differences emerge over North, economic leadership
Published: 23 Mar. 2025, 18:26
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- LIM JEONG-WON
- [email protected]
Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI
![South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, right, shakes hands with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, left, as Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya watches on, during the trilateral meeting between the three ministers in Tokyo on March 21. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/03/23/d73086d5-348f-46d0-90df-07b2e190780d.jpg)
South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, right, shakes hands with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, left, as Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya watches on, during the trilateral meeting between the three ministers in Tokyo on March 21. [YONHAP]
The foreign ministers of South Korea, Japan and China pledged to cooperate on the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit to be hosted in Gyeongju later this year during three-way talks in Tokyo on Saturday.
The meeting of the top envoys took place against the backdrop of political uncertainty in Seoul, where President Yoon Suk Yeol awaits a ruling in his impeachment trial.
At the 11th South Korea-Japan-China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi agreed to promote various exchange projects based on agreements reached at the trilateral summit held in May last year.
The three countries proposed sustainable development, health and aging, disaster relief and safety as joint tasks while designating economy and trade, science and technology and digital transformation as future-oriented cooperation goals.
In particular, the ministers agreed to expand exchanges between young people and to promote projects related to the South Korea-Japan-China Cultural Exchange Year that begins in April.
As South Korea and China agreed to work to restore cultural exchanges in their bilateral talks, expectations that the "Hallyu ban" — Chinese restrictions on Korean pop culture — have also grown.
“This South Korea-Japan-China meeting focused on soft issues and areas of cooperation that the people can feel firsthand, and we agreed to amass tangible results,” a senior official from South Korea's Foreign Ministry said.
The three countries also promised mutual cooperation for APEC summits to be held in Korea and China this year and next.
This year's APEC summit is scheduled to convene in the historic city of Gyeongju from late October to early November, with South Korea as the chair country.
Last year, the leaders of South Korea, Japan and China agreed to restart trilateral summits as a regular event, with Japan preparing to host one as soon as possible this year.
A high-ranking official from the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that "there was a consensus to hold a summit as early as possible" but that the specific timing would be coordinated “in consideration of the political situation of each country.”
Cho also held bilateral talks with his Chinese and Japanese counterparts during the visit.
In bilateral talks between South Korea and Japan on Saturday, the two sides discussed responses to U.S. President Donald Trump’s "America First" approach to foreign policy.
“We shared the response plans of South Korea and Japan, which face similar circumstances amid the uncertainty caused by the recent policies of the Trump administration,” said South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul.
During his first visit to Japan since becoming foreign minister, Cho demonstrated his close relationship with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya.
The two ministers repeatedly emphasized that they are each other’s “most trusted and favorite partners” in various settings, including a joint visit by the three ministers to Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and a welcoming dinner.
![From left, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul poses with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, during a courtesy call also joined by Wang in Tokyo on March 21. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/03/23/8675dc03-6152-4701-900f-9c58bd96fb35.jpg)
From left, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul poses with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, during a courtesy call also joined by Wang in Tokyo on March 21. [YONHAP]
However, subtle differences emerged among the three nations regarding some agenda items, such as North Korea and economic cooperation.
In particular, the positions of South Korea, Japan and China differed on North Korea's nuclear and missile development and military cooperation with Russia.
During the meeting, Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya expressed concern about North Korea and firmly stated that the denuclearization of North Korea per UN Security Council resolutions was the common goal of South Korea, Japan and China.
Cho agreed, emphasizing that North Korea should not be rewarded for participating in the Ukraine war.
On the other hand, Wang Yi, the Chinese Foreign Minister, said that the three countries should cooperate for the “peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula” without mentioning North Korea.
Furthermore, he indirectly targeted the United States by saying that each side should face the “root of the Korean Peninsula problem.”
A high-ranking Ministry of Foreign Affairs official assessed that China "must also manage its relations with North Korea, and it has indeed become more cautious in its choice of expressions.”
There was also a difference in the level of remarks on economic cooperation.
At a joint press conference after the meeting, Wang emphasized that the three sides “agreed to promote economic integration within the region” and would "maintain dialogue and communication to resume negotiations on an FTA, expand the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and facilitate regional supply chains.”
This was a more explicit expression than those used by Cho and Iwaya about economic cooperation and seemingly revealed China’s desire to play a leading role in economic cooperation within the region.
As U.S. tariff pressure intensifies on its allies, including South Korea and Japan, China appears to be using the opportunity to check the United States.
As the three ministers paid a courtesy call to Ishiba on Friday, Wang said, “There is a proverb among our three countries that ‘a close neighbor is better than a distant relative,’”
“The meeting was not a framework for talking about South Korea, Japan and China joining hands to counter the United States," a South Korean Foreign Ministry official said. "China expressed concern about the anti-globalization trend and made a general statement that we should prevent it from spreading, and we listened."
BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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