Rare Summit for National Leaders of South Korea, China and Japan

The trilateral meet of national leaders from South Korea, China and Japan held Sunday in South Korea, was the first in three years. The three nations said that the meeting restored and improved their shaky relationship as they try to find a common ground to secure their trade and security ties.

First formal meeting in three years

The last formal meeting of the three nations occurred in May 2012 and since then, their relationship went cold due to disputes regarding territory and history. No major developments were expected from the summit, but the meeting itself was taken as a good sign by analysts.

The high-level contacts among the three neighboring countries broke down when Shinzo Abe became the prime minister of Japan in 2012. Many South Koreans believed that PM Abe was attempting to whitewash the heinous actions the Japanese inflicted on Koreans and Chinese civilians during the Japanese colonization of the two countries in early 20thcentury.

There were several protests from Beijing and Seoul regarding the historical issues but Abe was not moved and insisted on being nationalistic. However, with their economy closely linked to one another, they are working to have their ties improved and strengthened.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met on Saturday and were joined by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday. Park and Abe met on Monday, their first one-on-one meeting since Park was elected into office in 2013.

Agenda

President Park and Premier Li, agreed to continue working to have their bilateral free trade agreement approved by this year’s end. The agenda on Sunday included the missile and nuclear bomb programs of North Korea, which remain as serious security threats to Tokyo and Seoul. Although China is the major ally of Pyongyang, signs show that the country is losing patience with North Korea and its constant incitements. Pres. Park had requested China to assume a constructive role on the issue of North Korea while Premier Li requested Pres. Park to exercise patience and continue to work in making the Korean Peninsula nuclear-free.

Washington had pushed Japan and South Korea to mend their broken relationship. At the same time Koreans called on Pres. Park to improve ties with Japan despite their discontent with the Japanese PM. South Korea also places big importance on the Seoul-Washington-Tokyo alliance in their fight to put an end to the nuclear ambitions of the North.

Image credit:BBC