S. Korea, Japan to maintain robust ties with US under Trump

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, right, and his Japanese counterpart Takeshi Iwaya attend a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and his Japanese counterpart Takeshi Iwaya said Monday that the trilateral partnership between Seoul, Washington and Tokyo will remain robust under the incoming U.S. Donald Trump administration.

The remarks were made during a joint press conference between Cho and Iwaya in Seoul, which marked the first official visit by a Japanese foreign minister for a bilateral meeting in nearly seven years.

"While it is difficult to predict the policies of the second Trump administration, Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation was a major focus of foreign policy during Trump’s first term, and I expect it to continue in the second term. What is clear is that there is bipartisan support in Washington for trilateral cooperation and there is strong consensus among the three countries on this matter," Cho said.

Iwaya echoed those sentiments.

"If circumstances permit, I plan to attend the U.S. presidential inauguration on Jan. 20. At that time, I will emphasize to the new Trump administration the critical importance of Japan-U.S.-Korea cooperation, which has become more important than ever," he said.

These messages from the top diplomats came amid concerns about sustaining trilateral security cooperation under Trump. Once Trump takes office, two of the three leaders — U.S. President Joe Biden and former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida — who established the trilateral security pact at the Camp David summit in 2023, will no longer be in power.

President Yoon Suk Yeol's duties were suspended after he was impeached by the National Assembly in December of last year due to his botched imposition of martial law. Acting President Choi Sang-mok assumed his role.

The foreign ministers also expressed hopes for the swift resumption of summit diplomacy between the two nations once political stability is restored in Seoul.

"Given the current circumstances, high-level communication between the two countries' leaders must be carefully reviewed. However, we plan to explore various options for such exchanges through existing diplomatic channels. Once the domestic political situation stabilizes, I believe communication between the leaders will naturally normalize," Cho said.

Bilateral relations between the two Asian neighbors, which had been affected by historical grievances related to Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula (1910–45), have improved after the Yoon administration chose to compensate Korean victims of Japanese wartime forced labor without seeking contributions from the Japanese companies involved.

Building on the strengthened momentum, the two ministers pledged to celebrate the 60th anniversary this year of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

"We are committed to advancing Korea-Japan relations steadily, without disruption. Both countries are close neighbors that share fundamental values such as freedom, human rights, and the rule of law," Cho said.

The Japanese foreign minister also expressed hopes for the success of various events marking this milestone, which would contribute to fostering people-to-people exchanges.

Monday's press conference took place after their bilateral meeting earlier in the day. It marked the first time in 14 years that the foreign ministers of the two countries held a joint press briefing, with the last one taking place in October 2011 between then-Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan and then-Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba.