Actions fulfilling Japan-South Korea-U.S. summit’s lofty vision

FORUM Staff

In the 12 months since Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and United States President Joe Biden met for an unprecedented summit near Washington, D.C., there has been much progress in their nations’ nascent trilateral relationship.

At the one-year anniversary of a joint statement released August 18, 2023, the three democracies are strengthening security ties, including with military exercises and real-time information sharing about North Korea’s illicit ballistic missile launches. Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK), South Korea’s formal name, have long-standing bilateral alliances with the U.S. Despite their political and economic similarities and geographical proximity, however, Japan and the ROK had limited official interactions before the landmark summit at Camp David, the U.S. presidential retreat in Maryland.

The long-sought three-way consensus and subsequent interactions reflect the collective response of many Indo-Pacific Allies and Partners to threats posed by North Korea, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia. In addition to launching their trilateral relationship, Japan, the ROK and the U.S. vowed to promote regional peace and security.

The pact has proved to be “a significant step forward,” Dr. Sung-Yoon Lee, a Korean and East Asian specialist at the Wilson Center, said during a recent panel discussion hosted by the U.S.-based think tank.

In July 2024, the three nations issued a memorandum of cooperation to institutionalize the security partnership against rising threats from North Korea and the PRC. The memorandum seeks to fortify the Camp David pact regardless of future leadership changes, the Voice of America (VOA) news network reported. Prompted by North Korea’s persistent nuclear and missile threats, and its growing military alignment with Russia, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara, South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin signed the memorandum on the Trilateral Security Cooperation Framework in Tokyo. It calls for regular high-level talks, joint exercises and other exchanges.

The three defense leaders urged North Korea to immediately halt provocative actions that could raise tensions on the Korean Peninsula. They praised the first Freedom Edge, a multidomain exercise in late June 2024 in which Japan, the ROK and the U.S. improved their collective capability “to safeguard freedom and ensure peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific,” the U.S. Defense Department stated. Ships and aircraft from the three nations participated in the exercise.

Japan, the ROK and the U.S. also should closely monitor the PRC’s actions, according to Evans Revere, a former U.S. diplomat and acting assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs. “There is a growing perception in all three countries of the threats and challenges they share in common,” he told VOA. “China’s attempts at political, military and economic intimidation are becoming more frequent.”