South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is set to hold a trilateral summit with U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Peru, the South Korean presidential office confirmed on Wednesday.
Yoon, who will depart for Peru on Thursday, is also coordinating the scheduling of separate summits with Japan and China on the sidelines of the APEC meeting, with those discussions expected to take place as well.
Following the APEC summit, Yoon is scheduled to attend the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Brazil, where he is also reportedly planning a golf meeting with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
The presidential office has not provided a specific return date for Yoon’s trip, suggesting that it could be flexible depending on the ongoing diplomatic discussions. “We are maintaining close communication with President-elect Trump’s team,” the office stated.
Before the U.S. presidential election, South Korea, the U.S., and Japan had been working to coordinate a trilateral summit in Hawaii or California this December. However, the election of Donald Trump and the anticipated change in U.S. leadership have led to adjustments in these plans.
Despite the packed schedule at APEC, the leaders’ agreement to move forward with the trilateral summit demonstrates their shared commitment to upholding the spirit of cooperation seen in the Camp David summit last year. For South Korea, this summit is also seen as a way to indirectly signal to the incoming Trump administration its intention to continue strong trilateral cooperation, regardless of the election outcome. The three leaders had agreed to hold annual trilateral summits during their Camp David meeting in August 2023, near Washington, D.C.
At the upcoming summit in Peru, the leaders are expected to discuss a firm response to North Korea’s nuclear and missile development programs, as well as strategies to enhance their trilateral cooperation on these issues.
Additionally, the leaders are likely to address the growing concerns over illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea. Recent reports from U.S. and South Korean authorities confirm that North Korean troops deployed to Russia are now engaged in combat alongside Russian forces in Kursk.
Meanwhile, the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) confirmed that North Korean forces have already been assessed to be participating in combat operations. “They are already assessed to be participating in combat,” the NIS stated.
