AKP Phnom Penh, January 13, 2025--

The top diplomats of South Korea and Japan were set to hold talks Monday on ways to sustain and advance bilateral ties, as well as trilateral cooperation with the United States, ahead of the launch of the second Donald Trump administration.

The talks between Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya come as South Korea is working to reassure foreign partners of its commitment to diplomacy despite the political turmoil following President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment over his short-lived martial law imposition.

Cho and Iwaya will meet one-on-one for the first time since South Korea became engulfed in the political crisis. They are to hold a joint press conference following their talks.

Before meeting with Cho, Iwaya is expected to visit Seoul National Cemetery to pay his respects and likely to pay a courtesy call on acting President Choi Sang-mok on Tuesday.

Iwaya's two-day trip to Seoul marks the first visit by a Japanese foreign minister in nearly seven years.

Monday's talks are expected to focus on maintaining momentum for trilateral cooperation with the U.S., their mutual ally, as Trump's second term, set to start Jan. 20, raises uncertainties about the future of the three-way partnership given his reluctance toward multilateralism.

The historic Camp David trilateral summit took place in August 2023 with the leaders of the three countries, but both Washington and Tokyo now have new leaders, while Seoul is currently led by an acting president.

On bilateral relations, the ministers will likely discuss efforts to keep positive momentum alive for the ties that have significantly improved since Yoon came into office.

In March last year, Yoon announced a decision that South Korea will compensate its victims of Japan's wartime forced labor without contributions from responsible Japanese companies.

His decision has led to the resumption of "shuttle diplomacy," or regular visits by the two countries' leaders, and exchanges at both the government and private sector levels.

The two sides are also expected to reaffirm their commitment to preparing for the 60th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral relations this year, regardless of the political situation in South Korea.

The ministers are likely to discuss efforts to facilitate an envisioned trilateral summit involving China. Japan is the host for this year's three-way meeting.

Iwaya's visit, following outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's trip to Seoul last week, can be seen as reinforcing South Korea's national stability despite the political turmoil.

Japan, along with the United States, has expressed confidence in South Korea and its democratic process.

Cho and Iwaya last held talks on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Peru last November.
Iwaya is on a four-day tour this week that will also take him to the Philippines and Palau.

AKP-Yonhap