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South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks on the phone with US President Joe Biden at the Blue House on Feb. 4. (provided by the Blue House)

South Korea, the US, and Japan are reportedly seeking to arrange a summit to coincide with the G7 meeting that will be held in the UK next month. South Korea and Japan are also exploring the possibility of a bilateral summit of their own.

Kyodo News cited multiple sources Saturday as saying that South Korea, the US, and Japan have begun planning a trilateral summit in Cornwall, in southwestern England, where the G7 summit is scheduled to take place on June 11-13.

The UK, which holds the G7 presidency this year, has invited the presidents of South Korea, India, and Australia to attend alongside the leaders of the G7 countries. If South Korea, the US, and Japan hold a trilateral summit, it would be the first in nearly four years since September 2017.

According to the news agency, efforts to restore cooperation between the US, South Korea and Japan appear to be picking up following the launch of the Joe Biden administration because of issues surrounding policy toward North Korea and keeping China in check.

Kyodo News stated that cooperation between Japan, the US and South Korea is “being led by the US.” The news outlet also noted that Biden “will likely appeal to Japan and South Korea during the summit to strengthen trilateral cooperation focused on North Korea’s denuclearization (“denuclearization” is a term used in South Korea and the US).”

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga of Japan is reportedly planning to get support from South Korean and American leaders to resolve the issue of North Korea’s abduction of Japanese citizens.

A series of face-to-face high-level meetings between the three countries has been held since last month. A trilateral meeting of security officials was held in the US on April 2, and, following a “proactive request” by the US, foreign ministers from the three nations met on May 5 during the G7 meeting held in the UK. A closed-door meeting of intelligence agency directors from all three nations met in Tokyo on Wednesday, and there are plans for the countries’ defense ministers to meet during the Asia Security Summit scheduled for next month – otherwise known as the Shangri-La Dialogue.

The Biden administration announced in late April that it had completed its review of new policies toward North Korea aimed at achieving denuclearization. Biden met with Suga on April 16, and now plans to meet South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday. There will likely be an emphasis on ways to strengthen cooperation between the US, South Korea and Japan while the state of affairs on the Korean Peninsula is being discussed in such an important way by the leaders.

One point of interest is whether South Korea and Japan will hold a summit meeting in the UK next month. Indeed, Kyodo News reported that “dialogue between the leaders of South Korea and Japan is being considered.”

The news agency noted, however, that Japanese leaders are pressing for caution about whether to hold an official summit meeting “because of conflict over historical issues.”

Japan’s government appears reluctant to hold an official summit unless South Korea finds solutions to issues surrounding the “comfort women” and the Korean victims of Japan’s forced mobilization during the Second World War. As a result, Moon and Suga are reportedly considering a “short, unofficial meeting” instead.

By Kim So-youn, staff reporter

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]