Japan, China and South Korea advocate denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula; Draft Joint Summit Declaration shows details

Top officials of Japan, China and South Korea will call for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula as a common goal, in view of North Korea’s nuclear and missile development, according to a draft joint statement to be adopted at the conference. upcoming trilateral summit.

At the summit to be held in Seoul on Monday, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Chinese Premier Li Qiang are expected to emphasize that maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia is their priority. common interest and responsibility. .

This will be the first trilateral summit since the previous one took place 4.5 years ago in Chengdu, China, in December 2019.

According to the draft, the three countries will emphasize the importance of dialogue and diplomatic efforts, as well as the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea, to achieve, among other things, the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The three countries will also share the idea of ​​calling for an immediate resolution of other issues, such as the kidnapping of Japanese nationals by North Korea.

The draft also shows that Kishida, Yoon and Li are expected to reaffirm their countries’ commitment to the international order based on the rule of law and oppose any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo through force or coercion.

The three countries will agree to strengthen their trilateral cooperation in six areas: human exchange; sustainable development and climate change; economic cooperation and trade; public health and the aging society; science and technology, as well as digitalization; and disaster relief.

In the areas of economic cooperation and trade, Japan, China and South Korea are expected to emphasize their shared responsibility to maintain and strengthen an open and fair international economic order, based on rules. They will also aim to increase trade volume between the three countries from $770 billion (about $120 trillion) in 2022 to $1 trillion in the coming years. The draft also specifies the three countries’ intention to accelerate negotiations on the conclusion of their trilateral free trade agreement.

The three countries will also reaffirm the need to hold regular meetings between their leaders and ministers to promote trilateral cooperation.

The joint statement is scheduled to be issued when Kishida, Yoon and Li meet on Monday. Working level officials from the three countries are currently finalizing the draft. Coordination could become difficult as China could raise objections over North Korean issues and the draft’s wording on opposition to any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo.