Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing say stability on Korean Peninsula is in their ‘common interest’

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang held a trilateral summit, the ninth of its kind, at the Blue House in central Seoul, the first such gathering in four years and five months.

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, left, and Chinese Premier Li Qiang, right, clap at the 8th South Korea-Japan-China Business Summit at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in central Seoul on Monday, after their trilateral summit. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

South Korea, Japan and China stressed in a joint declaration after a leaders' summit Monday that maintaining peace, stability and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula is in their "common interest," alluding to Pyongyang's nuclear threats.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang held a trilateral summit, the ninth of its kind, at the Blue House in central Seoul, the first such gathering in four years and five months.

"In order to ensure regional peace and stability, a core interest shared by South Korea, Japan and China, it is important to strive for the denuclearization of North Korea while faithfully implementing UN Security Council resolutions, with the ultimate goal of realizing a free and peaceful unified Korean Peninsula," Yoon said during a joint press briefing later Monday alongside Kishida and Li after their three-way summit.

Just hours ahead of the South Korea-Japan-China summit, North Korea announced plans to launch a space rocket carrying a purported military reconnaissance satellite by June 4.

After their talks, the three leaders later issued a joint declaration covering six areas of cooperation: people-to-people exchanges; sustainable development and climate response; economy and trade; public health and an aging society; science and technology and digital transformation; disaster relief and safety; and regional and international peace and prosperity.

The leaders "reaffirmed that maintaining peace, stability and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia serves our common interest and is our common responsibility" through the declaration.

They further "reiterated positions on regional peace and stability, denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the abductions issue" and agreed to "continue to make positive efforts for the political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue."

Yoon sternly warned against North Korea's plans to launch a spy satellite during his opening remarks at the trilateral meeting.

"Any launch using ballistic missile technology directly violates UN Security Council resolutions and undermines regional and global peace and stability," Yoon said. "If North Korea carries out a launch despite warnings from the international community, I believe the international community must respond sternly."

In his opening remarks, Kishida echoed similar views, calling on Pyongyang to "cease" activities that violate Security Council resolutions.

"I hope that today's meeting will become a historic milestone that promises a new start and leap forward in our trilateral cooperation," Yoon said, expressing his hopes that the three countries could "work together to respond to global challenges."

The summit comes as the three Northeast Asian countries strive to normalize relations and seek cooperation in areas they can, including economy and trade, amid complex geopolitical circumstances.

However, Li skirted direct mention of the North Korean denuclearization issue in his opening remarks at the summit and during the joint press conference.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, speaks during a joint press briefing after holding a trilateral summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, left, and Chinese Primer Li Qiang, right, at the Blue House in central Seoul on Monday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

During the joint press conference, Yoon stressed that the top priority of the three countries is improving their people's livelihoods, health and safety.

"To this end, we have decided to create a transparent and predictable trade and investment environment and build a safe supply chain," Yoon said, adding they had further agreed to cooperate and respond jointly to environmental issues such as air pollution, public health crises and transnational crimes.

The three countries designated 2025 and 2026 as the year of South Korea-Japan-China cultural exchange to further encourage people-to-people and cultural interactions.

Yoon said that Monday's meeting meant their trilateral summit "has been normalized" and "a foundation has been laid for the further growth of the Korea-Japan-China cooperative system, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year."

The last trilateral summit was held in Chengdu, China, in December 2019, before it went on hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic and strained relations between Seoul and Tokyo over historical disputes. The trilateral summit between the Northeast Asian countries was first launched in December 2008.

In separate talks with Li, Yoon asked China to "play a constructive role in maintaining the global nuclear nonproliferation system" as one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council regarding the North Korean nuclear issue, presidential spokesperson Kim Soo-kyung said in a statement later Monday.

Yoon also requested cooperation on the issue of North Korean defectors. China is known for its policy of forcibly repatriating North Koreans, who could face harsh punishments or persecution when returned.

Li replied that China has been making efforts toward a peaceful resolution of Korean Peninsula issues and believes in the importance of political stability, added Kim. He also conveyed that China is "well aware of South Korea's concerns" and will continue communicating on this.

Li noted that amid continued tensions on the Korean Peninsula, "all parties need to play a constructive role, stay committed to easing tensions, work for an early resumption of dialogue, push forward the process for a political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue and uphold regional peace and stability," the Chinese Embassy in Seoul said in a statement.

He called on Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo to take advantage of their respective development advantages, actively respond to the needs of Asean countries and "create new engines of regional cooperation."

The three leaders' joint declaration also recognized their "close partnership" with Asean countries.

They further called to "ensure a global level playing field to foster a free, open, fair, nondiscriminatory, transparent, inclusive, and predictable trade and investment environment."

The leaders committed to "keeping markets open, strengthening supply chain cooperation and avoiding supply chain disruptions" and shared the need to continue communication on export controls.

The three countries issued a separate joint statement on future pandemic prevention, preparedness and response by implementing relevant national strategies and activities to enhance international cooperation.

They released another joint statement on a 10-year vision for trilateral IP cooperation, which was agreed upon by the three countries' intellectual property authorities.

SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), center, Masakazu Tokura, left, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, and Ren Hongbin, right, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), sign a joint statement on trilateral economic cooperation at the KCCI headquarters in central Seoul on Monday. [NEWS1]

Later Monday, Yoon, Kishida, and Li attended a business summit, the eighth of its kind, hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) in central Seoul. The summit addressed economic revitalization and sustainable development.

Some 280 government officials and business executives from the three countries attended the forum, including Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group and the KCCI, Masakazu Tokura, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, and Ren Hongbin, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.

Yoon called for revitalizing regional trade and investment between South Korea, Japan and China "based on mutual respect and trust," stressing that "corporate investment is a safety net for the relationship between the three countries."

He called on the three governments to work together to "create a predictable and trustworthy business environment for foreign investors," adding that if businesspeople of Korea, Japan and China "join forces, our three countries will become leading players in the world."

Yoon proposed using the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a mega free trade pact that the three countries are party to, as a plan for three-way economic cooperation.

Korea, Japan and China called for resuming negotiations on a trilateral FTA, which have been suspended since 2019.

The three countries' business lobby groups agreed to form a trilateral economic consultative body to promote economic cooperation and resolve pending issues amid growing business uncertainties, the KCCI said in a statement.

They further agreed to cooperate in the areas of digital transformation, revitalization of trade and supply chain stabilization for the growth of the three countries. They also urged joint efforts to tackle issues such as a green transition, responding to aging societies and providing medical care for sustainable development.

Japan will host the next trilateral summit and business forum.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]