S.Korea, US, Japan negotiate possible defence ministerial talks

Seoul, December 28, 2008 : .

South Korea and Japan are in negotiations over the possibility that the three countries hold trilateral defense ministerial discussions, Seouls Defence Ministry said TuesdayBoo Seungchan, the Ministry spokesperson, made these remarks after NHK reported that Japan and Korea are coordinating to hold talks in Hawaii between Suh Wook, Seouls Defense Minister, and their counterparts from the US, Lloyd Austin, and Nobuo Kirshi next month.

Yonhap News Agency reports.Boo stated that the Trilateral Defence Ministers Meeting will be held in the current consultations.

A spokesperson for Washington pointed out that Seoul and Washington had reached an agreement that they would seek to have the three-way defense ministerial negotiations with Japan early in the year through the Security Consultative Meeting held earlier this month.Last November 2019, the three countries held a trilateral defense ministerial meeting in Bangkok.

This was in the context of security negotiations involving ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations).If the trilateral meeting is held, it would be at a moment when Washington seeks to unite its partners and allies to combat Chinas assertiveness in midst a growing great-power rivalry across multiple fronts including trade, technology and security.

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