What did U.S. Ambassador to Korea Michelle Steel say after meeting Japanese Ambassador Mizushima Koichi?

Steel said she had a thoughtful conversation with Mizushima Koichi about opportunities ahead for trilateral cooperation among the United States, Korea and Japan. She said continued coordination among the three countries would support a peaceful, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific.

Why did Michelle Steel highlight trilateral cooperation with Seoul, Washington and Tokyo?

She said the three-way coordination would help advance a shared vision for a peaceful, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific. The post framed the meeting as part of broader cooperation among the three governments.

Who else did Michelle Steel say she met after taking office as U.S. ambassador to Korea?

Steel also disclosed separate meetings with Canadian Ambassador Philippe Lafortune and Israeli Ambassador Rafael Harpaz. She said the Canadian meeting covered shared priorities in Korea, while the Israeli meeting focused on continuing dialogue on issues of mutual interest.

US Amb. Steel meets Japanese envoy, stresses continued trilateral cooperation

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Summary

U.S. Ambassador to Korea Michelle Steel met Japanese Ambassador Mizushima Koichi and stressed continued three-way cooperation among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo. In a post on X uploaded the previous day, Steel said the two discussed opportunities ahead for trilateral cooperation and a shared vision for a peaceful, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific. She also disclosed separate meetings with Canadian Ambassador Philippe Lafortune and Israeli Ambassador Rafael Harpaz, marking her first public disclosure of meetings with other ambassadors since taking office last month.

Key Facts

Steel said her meeting with Mizushima Koichi focused on opportunities ahead for trilateral cooperation among the United States, Korea and Japan.
She said continued coordination among the three countries would help advance a shared vision for a peaceful, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific.
The post said this was the first time Steel had publicly disclosed meetings with other ambassadors to Korea since taking office last month.
Steel also said she met Canadian Ambassador Philippe Lafortune and discussed shared priorities in Korea.
In her post on the Israeli ambassador meeting, she said she looked forward to continuing dialogue on issues of mutual interest.

By Yonhap

Published Aug 25, 2026 2:13 pm KST

U.S. Ambassador to Korea Michelle Steel, second from left, poses with Japanese Ambassador Mizushima Koichi, second from right, and others, Monday. Captured from U.S. Ambassador to Korea Michelle Steel's X

U.S. Ambassador to Korea Michelle Steel has met with her Japanese counterpart and stressed the importance of continued three-way cooperation among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo, the U.S. envoy's social media post showed Tuesday.

In her post on X uploaded the previous day, Steel said she had "a thoughtful conversation with Japanese Ambassador Mizushima Koichi on the opportunities ahead" for trilateral cooperation among the United States, Korea and Japan.

"Continued coordination among our three countries will help advance our shared vision for a peaceful, secure, and prosperous Indo-Pacific," she added.

It marked the first time Steel has publicly disclosed meetings with other ambassadors to Korea since taking office last month.

Steel also disclosed separate meetings with Canadian Ambassador to Korea Philippe Lafortune and Israeli Ambassador to Korea Rafael Harpaz.

"It was a pleasure meeting with Ambassador Lafortune and discussing our shared priorities in Korea. The U.S. and Canada remain committed to peace and security on the Korean Peninsula," she said in a separate post.

On her meeting with the Israeli envoy, the U.S. ambassador said she looked forward to "continuing our dialogue on issues of mutual interest."

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