S. Korea, U.S., Japan to hold vice ministerial meeting in Washington next week

Diplomacy 18:57 February 08, 2023

SEOUL, Feb. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea, the United States and Japan will hold a vice ministerial meeting in Washington next week to discuss the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and ways to boost trilateral cooperation, Seoul's foreign ministry said Wednesday.

South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong will meet Wendy Sherman, deputy U.S. state secretary, and his Japanese counterpart, Takeo Mori, for a tripartite session on Feb. 13, according to the ministry.

The three sides are expected to hold "in-depth and extensive" discussions on expanding trilateral cooperation for stronger deterrence against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, and other regional and global issues.

It will be the third trilateral meeting at the vice-ministerial level to be held under the administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol, the last of which was held in Tokyo last October.

During his visit, Cho will also hold bilateral talks with Sherman and Mori separately, the ministry said, drawing attention to whether Seoul and Tokyo will manage to narrow their differences on the long-standing issue of compensating Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced labor.

The two countries have recently held several rounds of working-level consultations on ways to resolve the issue.