Japan, South Korea, US Renew Cooperation Vow 1 Year After Historic Summit

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, U.S. President Joe Biden, and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio hold a joint news conference following three-way talks at Camp David, Md., on Aug. 18, 2023. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Leaders of Japan, South Korea, and the United States have renewed their commitment to security cooperation a year after their first trilateral summit.

Marking the anniversary of a meeting among President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol at Camp David, the leaders issued a joint statement on Aug. 18, renewing the pledge to consult with each other on “regional challenges, provocations, and threats affecting our collective interests and security.”

In the trilateral summit last year, which was described as “unprecedented” because of historic tensions between Japan and South Korea—a former Japanese colony—leaders of the three countries called out the Chinese communist regime’s “dangerous and aggressive behavior” in the South China Sea, while Kishida said the nuclear and missile threat from North Korea was “becoming ever larger.”

Leaders of the three countries agreed to hold annual trilateral summits and military training exercises, share real-time information on North Korean missile launches, and cooperate on “supply chain resilience.”

In the joint statement, the leaders hailed “tremendous progress” in the past year.

The countries noted new cooperation in security and military efforts, as well as a renewed focus on “combatting efforts by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to generate revenue for its weapons of mass destruction programs through cybercrime and other illicit means.”

“We are resolved to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, remain aligned in our shared vision, and stand ready to meet the world’s greatest challenges. We hold an unshakeable belief that cooperation between Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the United States is indispensable for meeting today’s challenges and will set the stage for a prosperous future,” the statement reads.

The leaders said they stand by their commitment to consult on regional challenges, provocations, and threats affecting their collective interests and security and continued to commit to enhancing security cooperation.

Between June 27 and June 29, the militaries of Japan, South Korea, and the United States held their inaugural exercise dubbed Freedom Edge.

Days before the exercise was to take place, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a defense pact with Russian President Vladimir Putin when the latter visited Pyongyang for the first time in 24 years.

The pact includes a mutual agreement to offer support if the other country is under attack.

The treaty was condemned by senior officials from the United States, South Korea, and Japan, who said continued arms transfers from North Korea to Russia “prolong the suffering of the Ukrainian people, violate multiple United Nations Security Council Resolutions, and threaten stability in both Northeast Asia and Europe.”

They also said the pact should have been “of grave concern to anyone with an interest in maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, upholding the global non-proliferation regime, and supporting the people of Ukraine as they defend their freedom and independence against Russia’s brutal aggression.”

The renewal of the cooperation pledge by Japan, South Korea, and the United States came amid ongoing concerns over ongoing tensions in the South China Sea and near Taiwan.

In the latest flare-up, the Philippine and Chinese militaries traded accusations after Chinese aircraft dropped flares in the flight path of a Philippine patrol plane on Aug. 8.

Washington last month pledged funding of $500 million for Manila’s military and coast guard. The Philippines has also expanded security cooperation with Japan, another key U.S. ally in East Asia.