Eyes on Korea, US, Japan meeting in Thailand this week as trade dispute escalates

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, center, United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, and Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono pose for a group photo before a trilateral meeting at the office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul, in this photo taken on June 14, 2018. Korea Times file

By Park Ji-won

The foreign ministers of South Korea, the United States and Japan are expected to jointly discuss ways to resolve a trade row between Seoul and Tokyo when they come to the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) in Thailand this week. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Japanese Prime Minister Taro Kono are also expected to meet U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo together and to hold separate bilateral talks to better tackle the trade dispute.

Analysts said the ARF, an annual security forum involving all three allies, will be critical to ease worsening Seoul-Tokyo relations and cope with North Korea's military threats as witnessed from its latest missile launches on July 25.

The ARF will take place from Aug. 2 to 3 in Bangkok, with other relevant meetings to take place on the same week.

“I think any time we have the U.S., the ROK, and Japan in the same place, there's going to be a desire to get together,” a U.S. senior state department official said Friday during a special briefing on U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's trip to Thailand, Australia and the Federated States of Micronesia which is scheduled between July 30 and Aug. 6, signaling a possible trilateral meeting among Kang, Pompeo and Kono.

The remarks came amid rising calls for the U.S. to play a role in resolving the intensifying disputes between Seoul and Tokyo since the Korean Supreme Court's ruling last October, requiring Japanese firms in South Korea to pay surviving South Korean victims of wartime forced labor. Japan on July 4 implemented export restrictions to South Korea of three materials used to make semiconductors and smartphones in an apparent move to protest the ruling against Japanese firms. South Korea, meanwhile, claims the export restrictions are unfair, revving up efforts to win support from the international community.

If the meetings happen, it will be the first time for the three diplomats to meet since July 2018 in Tokyo. It is largely expected that the three will discuss diplomatic ways to ease the tension between the neighboring countries.

Experts say the U.S.' possible intervention is likely to block China's ambitions to expand its influence on South Korea.

When asked about the implications of the trilateral meeting in Thailand, Kim Hyun-wook, a professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, said “It is time for the U.S. to rebuild the trilateral cooperation between Seoul, Washington and Japan as the Koreas turn into a weak link in pursuing its Pacific strategy.”

However, whether the trilateral meeting will be realized is still unknown as the U.S. lawmakers appear to be reluctant to mediate in the dispute.

Rep. Choi Gyo-il of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), who was part of a parliamentary delegation that visited the U.S. last week to discuss the trade disputes and security issues in the region with its U.S. and Japanese counterparts, stated “U.S. officials said their country will not intervene or mediate in (the disputes between Seoul and Japan), but hope the relations will improve.”

Meanwhile, there are no plans for a bilateral meeting between Kang and Kono, as the two countries have been showing large differences on trade and historical issues.

The foreign ministry said Friday the two ministers held phone conversations over the North's firing of short-range ballistic missiles and shared the understanding that talks and communication through diplomatic channels should continue particularly when facing difficulties in bilateral ties. But the top diplomats failed to narrow differences in their stances on the trade curbs, reaffirming their opposing views.

A foreign ministry official said, “It is hard to know if a bilateral meeting will happen, but the possibility is open.”

If the two hold a bilateral meeting, it will be the first time since June 28 when they met in Osaka for a short time on the sidelines of the G20 summit, according to the foreign ministry. The meeting ended without any results.

Kim added that not holding a bilateral meeting between Seoul and Tokyo will burden relations.

Meanwhile, President Moon Jae-in canceled his planned summer vacation in an apparent move to tackle the overwhelming domestic and overseas tasks including the trade row.