Latest news with #SouthKorea-US-Japan
Korea Herald
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Military chiefs of S. Korea, US meet but avoid thorny issues
The top military officers of South Korea and the United States met Thursday but avoided thorny issues such as a potential increase in Seoul's payment for the stationing of US Forces Korea on the peninsula, sources close to the matter said. Adm. Kim Myung-soo, chairman of the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his US counterpart, Gen. John Daniel Caine, held a 40-minute meeting at Seoul's JCS headquarters. Their agenda focused on updates on North Korea's military and security cooperation between the allies. The meeting came amid heightened concerns in South Korea as US President Donald Trump has ramped up calls for Seoul to shoulder more of the costs of stationing US troops here, on Tuesday, local time. South Korea pays the US "very little" for US military support, Trump said. It also took place as reports grow of Washington's possible plans to change the role of the 28,500-strong US Forces Korea to prioritize deterring threats from China. Thursday's talks were held as part of a broader South Korea-US-Japan Trilateral Chief of Defense meeting scheduled from Thursday to Friday. Two separate bilateral meetings between Kim and Caine and Kim and the Chief of Staff of Japan's Joint Staff, Gen. Yoshihide Yoshida, took place Thursday. The trilateral meeting involving all three generals is scheduled to be held at Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff headquarters on Friday. Aligned with their efforts to bolster trilateral security cooperation, the three countries are in talks to hold their third round of the multi-domain Freedom Edge exercise in September, sources close to the matter said Thursday. The exercise, which kicked off in June last year, aims to better counter North Korean provocations across various military domains, including air, sea and cyberspace. The second round was held in November last year. The latest trilateral meeting among the chiefs of defense marks the first of its kind since the start of the Lee Jae Myung administration in June. Caine's visit marks the first visit to South Korea by the highest-ranking US military officer since his predecessor, CQ Brown, visited Seoul in November 2023.
Korea Herald
09-06-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Lee, Ishiba back 3-way cooperation with US in 1st phone talks
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba agreed that the trilateral partnership among Seoul, Tokyo and Washington could serve as a key framework for responding to geopolitical crises, according to Lee's office on Monday. 'The two leaders also reviewed the achievements of past South Korea-US-Japan cooperation and agreed to continue efforts to respond to various geopolitical crises within the framework of trilateral collaboration,' Lee's spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said. They also discussed ways to strengthen bilateral ties to explore a mutually beneficial partnership in the first phone conversation since Lee's presidential election win the previous week. In a 25-minute phone call that started at noon Monday, Lee and Ishiba agreed to meet in person in the future to discuss issues of mutual interest, including ways to develop bilateral ties, Kang said. According to Kang, Lee highlighted the growing importance of the bilateral ties between South Korea and Japan in the face of current challenges that could be strategically addressed. Kang also said that Lee expressed his anticipation that the two countries could "explore ways to deal with common challenges in the future and seek co-prosperity from the perspective of mutual interests." Marking the 60th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties, the two leaders pledged to strengthen communications between the authorities, Kang said, adding the two agreed to solidify bilateral ties on the foundation of mutual respect and trust. Both Lee and Ishiba are expected to attend the Group of Seven summit in Canada soon. Plans for a possible in-person meeting of Lee and Ishiba on the sidelines of the multilateral summit have yet to be announced by Seoul as of press time. Under ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol, the relationship between South Korea and Japan has thawed as Yoon had sought to leave historical grievances in the past. The thawing relations boosted people-to-people exchange to a record level, as the all-time-high 11.25 million passengers were estimated to have flown between South Korea and Japan during the first five months of 2025. While Yoon touted the close ties with Japan as an effort to "overcome the painful past," Lee, who was then the leader of the liberal opposition party, had long criticized Yoon for his "humiliating" approach to diplomacy. In a congratulatory message to Lee over his election win, Ishiba noted that he hoped for a "renewed relations after years of strain between the two countries," expressing his intention to work together on issues of security, historical reconciliation and regional stability.
Korea Herald
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
DP's Lee vows 'pragmatic' diplomacy, to solidify 3-way cooperation with US, Japan
Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung said Monday he would pursue "pragmatic" diplomacy for national interests, if he is elected, and solidify trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan. Lee, the campaign's front-runner, unveiled his foreign policy and national security campaign pledges on Facebook, just eight days before the nation heads to the polls for the June 3 election. "Based on the firm South Korea-US alliance, (I) will implement a pragmatic foreign policy centered on national interest," Lee said "(I) will restore the foundation of trust of the South Korea-US alliance that has been damaged by the illegal martial law and develop it into a future-oriented comprehensive strategic alliance. "(I) will solidify the South Korea-US-Japan cooperation. Japan is an important partner for cooperation." (Yonhap)
Hans India
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Military chiefs of South Korea, US vow to strengthen trilateral security cooperation with Japan
Seoul: The top military officers of South Korea and the US vowed to further strengthen the allies' trilateral security cooperation with Japan during their first video talks earlier this week, the South's military said Wednesday. Adm. Kim Myung-soo, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), and his US counterpart, Gen. John Daniel Caine, held the talks Tuesday, which marked the first between the two sides since Caine took office last month. "Through the South Korea-US-Japan Trilateral Chief of Defense meeting set to take place in South Korea in July, (the two sides) agreed to further strengthen the momentum of trilateral security cooperation," the JCS said in a release. The three countries have recently ramped up trilateral security cooperation through joint military drills amid growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea, Yonhap news agency reported. Kim and Caine also stressed the importance of establishing the capabilities and posture to effectively respond to advancing North Korean threats in line with Pyongyang's expanding cooperation with Moscow, according to the JCS. North Korea is suspected to have received military technology assistance from Russia in return for deploying troops in support of Moscow's war against Ukraine. Earlier in March, 2025, South Korea, the US and Japan have conducted joint naval drills involving the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier, Seoul's defence ministry said, in efforts to better deter and counter North Korea's chemical, biological and radiological (CBR) threats. The trilateral naval drills, was the first such exercise conducted this year and since US President Donald Trump returned to office in January -- took place in international waters south of the southern resort island of Jeju.
Korea Herald
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Military chiefs of S. Korea, US vow to strengthen trilateral security cooperation with Japan
The top military officers of South Korea and the United States vowed to further strengthen the allies' trilateral security cooperation with Japan during their first video talks earlier this week, the South's military said Wednesday. Adm. Kim Myung-soo, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his US counterpart, Gen. John Daniel Caine, held the talks Tuesday, which marked the first between the two sides since Caine took office last month. "Through the South Korea-US-Japan Trilateral Chief of Defense meeting set to take place in South Korea in July, (the two sides) agreed to further strengthen the momentum of trilateral security cooperation," the JCS said in a release. The three countries have recently ramped up trilateral security cooperation through joint military drills amid growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea. Kim and Caine also stressed the importance of establishing the capabilities and posture to effectively respond to advancing North Korean threats in line with Pyongyang's expanding cooperation with Moscow, according to the JCS. North Korea is suspected to have received military technology assistance from Russia in return for deploying troops in support of Moscow's war against Ukraine. (Yonhap)
