South Korea, China, and Japan fail to agree on 'denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula'

President Yoon Suk-yeol holds hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (L) and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (R) before the ninth trilateral summit between China, Japan and South Korea at the presidential Blue House on Sunday. By Kim Chang-gil

“We reiterated our positions on regional peace and stability, the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and the abduction issue,” said President Yoon Suk-yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in a joint declaration on the outcome of the South Korea-China-Japan summit on May 27.
China referred to regional peace and stability, South Korea to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and Japan to the abduction issue respectively. It has been pointed out that the three countries have retreated from their joint response to North Korea by failing to put their efforts to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula into a common position.The three countries decided to institutionalize trilateral cooperation to revitalize trilateral cooperation among South Korea, China, and Japan.
“We reaffirmed that peace, stability, and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia are our common interests and shared responsibilities,” Yoon, Kishida, and Li said in a joint declaration after the ninth Trilateral Summit at Yeongbingwan guesthouse in Seoul. The summit was held in four years and five months after the eighth Summit held in Chengdu, China, in December 2019.
The three countries listed topics of importance to each of them on the North Korean nuclear issue, which was a step back from the previous summit's statement that “we are committed to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. “We agree to continue our positive efforts for the political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue,” the three countries said. “The inclusion of the words ‘denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula’ should be seen as an indication that China also sympathizes with and understands this,” an official at the presidential office said.
In a joint press conference after the Summit, the three countries also reconfirmed their differences on North Korea. Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida each noted that “it is important to work towards the denuclearization of North Korea” and that “the denuclearization of North Korea and the stability on the Korean Peninsula are in the common interest of the three countries.”
On the other hand, Premier Li said, “China has always maintained its commitment to promoting peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and pushing for a political settlement of the Korean Peninsula issue,” adding, “The relevant parties should maintain restraint and prevent the situation from further deteriorating and complicating.”
Despite the focus on strengthening economic cooperation among the three countries, there were also differences of opinion. “(The three countries) should regard each other as development partners and development opportunities, uphold economic globalization and free trade, and oppose protectionism and decoupling in opposition to economic and trade issues, pan-politicization and pan-securitization,” Li said in his opening remarks. The three countries appear to have expressed their discomfort over the solidification of close ties among South Korea, the U.S. and Japan, including global supply chains amid the intensification of the U.S.-China hegemonic rivalry.
The three countries reaffirmed the need to hold the Trilateral Summit and the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on a regular basis.

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.