Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya will visit South Korea on Monday to strengthen security ties with Seoul and their mutual ally, the United States, amid regional challenges from North Korea and China's growing influence.
Iwaya will be the first Japanese foreign minister to visit Seoul in seven years. During his visit, he is set to meet South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Acting President Choi Sang-mok, according to the Japanese government. The discussions will focus on reaffirming the importance of bilateral relations and coordinating policies on North Korea in light of current strategic conditions.
However, deepening trilateral security cooperation may prove challenging given South Korea’s political turmoil following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment last month. Yoon has been confined to his residence in Seoul since his martial law decree on December 3, with investigators blocked from arresting him by the Presidential Security Service and military guards.
The recent transition to a second Trump administration in the United States adds further uncertainty, as none of the original leaders who forged the three-way security pact in 2023—U.S. President Joe Biden, South Korea's Yoon, and Japan's Fumio Kishida—remain in power.
“The trilateral will move forward, but the real question is whether it will thrive,” U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said in Tokyo on Friday before departing for the United States. “It will require effort to nurture and develop.”
Iwaya’s visit follows South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul’s meeting with outgoing U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week, where Blinken expressed "serious concerns" over actions taken during Yoon's martial law declaration. Iwaya also met Blinken in Tokyo the following day to discuss these issues.
After South Korea, Iwaya will visit the Philippines to address security and economic cooperation and will travel to Palau to attend the inauguration of President Surangel Whipps Jr. before returning to Japan.
Source: Japan Times
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
