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President Yoon Suk-yeol of South Korea speaks during a trilateral summit with US and Japanese counterparts in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Nov. 13, 2022. (Yoon Woon-sik/The Hankyoreh)

Although President Yoon Suk-yeol’s speech commemorating the March 1 Independence Movement has sparked furor in South Korea for ignoring Japan’s accountability for the past and instead opting to call Japan a “partner who shares the same values,” it is being welcomed with open arms by the US Department of State.

The US seems to be pleased with what seems to be a more generous approach to what is perceived to be the big hurdle to strengthening trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the US, and Japan: historical grudges.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price said at a regular press briefing on Wednesday (local time) that “trilateral cooperation is an area in which we have invested much of our energy,” when asked to comment on Yoon’s speech.

“[Yoon] has articulated a vision for a more cooperative, future-oriented relationship with Japan based on the shared values that those two countries have together,” Price went on. “We very much support this vision, and we further believe US-ROK-Japan trilateral cooperation is critical to addressing the challenges that our three countries collectively are confronting in the 21st century.”

He explained that these efforts have included trilateral meetings and contact between leaders, foreign ministers, deputy foreign ministers, and representatives of North Korea.

“We do applaud both the Republic of Korea President Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida for their efforts to improve bilateral relations in recent months," Price said, adding that the US is “encouraged that Japan and the ROK are working together to resolve their history-related issues in a way that promotes healing and reconciliation.”

When asked how he sees Japan’s unfounded claim to Dokdo affecting cooperation between the three countries, Price said, “There remain issues for our allies to work out among themselves, to discuss among themselves” and that they hope to find a “productive way forward” to continue progressing the South Korea-Japan relationship.

The Biden administration has repeatedly emphasized the importance of trilateral cooperation between the US, Japan, and Korea to ease the burden on the US while also increasing pressure on North Korea and China.

Recent high-level summits between the three countries have been as much about China, such as the situation in the Taiwan Strait, as they have been about North Korea’s nuclear weapon situation. The US’ is expected to continue pressing South Korea and Japan to improve ties through Yoon’s visit to the US, which is poised to take place in late April.

By Lee Bon-young, Washington correspondent

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