Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing agreed to “denuclearize the Korean Peninsula”

Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing reaffirmed their commitment to the “denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” and peace on Monday during their first trilateral summit in nearly five years, vowing to strengthen their economic cooperation and push for a trilateral free trade agreement.

Mentioning denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula during the Seoul summit constitutes a “serious political provocation” that would “violate the constitutional position” of North Korea “as a nuclear-weapon state,” a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said. This was reported by the official news agency KCNA.

The issue was not officially on the agenda for talks between South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol, Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. But the launch of the satellite, declared imminent by North Korea, a nuclear-armed country, brought the North Korean issue to the summit with a bang.

Before the meeting, Pyongyang informed the Japanese coast guard that it would open an eight-day window on Sunday night to launch a spy satellite, a launch that would violate UN sanctions against North Korea.

According to Seoul, the North receives space assistance from Moscow in exchange for supplying weapons to Russian troops in Ukraine. In November, Pyongyang successfully launched a spy satellite into orbit for the first time.

Yoon Seok-yeol and Fumio Kishida called on Pyongyang to cancel the launch, which the Korean said would harm “regional and global peace and stability” and, if carried out, should provoke a “strong” response from the international community.

China condemns Pyongyang’s nuclear tests

Li Qiang did not mention this topic at the press conference. China is a key trading partner and a strong diplomatic ally of North Korea. “We reaffirm our position on issues of peace and stability in the region and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” the leaders wrote in a joint statement, reiterating their desire to “continue positive efforts toward a political resolution” of the issue.

“North Korea’s denuclearization and stability on the Korean Peninsula are in the common interests of the three countries,” Fumio Kishida said as China’s prime minister asked “the parties concerned to exercise restraint and prevent the situation from further complicating things.” This was reported by the state agency New China.

China, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, condemned Pyongyang’s nuclear tests and supported sanctions aimed at curbing weapons development. However, she blamed joint military maneuvers between the United States and South Korea for escalating tensions in the region.

The press briefing and joint statement “clearly showed the difference of opinion” between the three countries, Lee Dong-gyu, a researcher at the Asan Institute in Seoul, explained to AFP, pointing to “differences in the positions, diplomatic and security aspects of each country.” a country.

Strengthening economic ties

However, the fact that Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing are seeking to strengthen trilateral cooperation and boost economic ties is a good sign for future agreements, especially on more sensitive issues such as North Korea’s nuclear weapons, he said.

At this first trilateral summit in nearly five years, Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing agreed to strengthen their trilateral cooperation by regularly organizing these types of summits. Economically, the three capitals will encourage a trilateral free trade agreement and seek to “accelerate negotiations,” they said in a joint press release.

Yoon Seok-yeol also said that the three states “have decided to create a transparent and predictable environment for trade and investment, and establish a secure supply chain.”

During the summit, the Chinese called on Tokyo and Seoul “not to turn economic and trade issues into political games or security issues, and to abandon protectionism and the division or destruction of supply chains,” he said, according to Chine Nouvelle. Following the discussions, the three leaders joined business leaders attending an economic summit aimed at boosting trade between the three countries.

Yoon Seok-yeol, South Korea’s president since 2022, is seeking to improve his country’s relations with former colonial power Japan in the face of growing threats from Pyongyang. Tokyo and Seoul are key US allies in Asia.