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US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol head into talks after taking a photo together on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima on May 21. (Yonhap)

South Korea, the US and Japan are pursuing plans to make trilateral meetings among their leaders a regular occurrence after a planned Aug. 18 summit at Camp David in the US, it was learned Tuesday.

If the plans are finalized, the trilateral summits appear likely to serve as a framework for reinforcing strategic coordination among the three sides, including cooperation on containing China.

The governments of South Korea, the US and Japan were reportedly pursuing working-level discussions on making trilateral summits a regular event, with finalization contingent on approval from the three sides’ leaders.

In the past, trilateral summits have been held as needed during other multilateral summit events. The upcoming event would be the first time the three leaders meet exclusively for a trilateral summit without it being linked to another occasion.

If regular summits are held, the three sides appear likely to follow a similar format to the Group of Seven summits, where they take turns hosting the event.

The plan for regular trilateral summits comes at a time when the US has been urging Seoul and Tokyo to reconcile in the interests of global strategy, including stronger curbs against Beijing.

While mentioning the summit schedule on Saturday during a campaign event in Freeport, Maine, US President Joe Biden said he was “bringing along the leaders of Japan and South Korea” to Camp David.

“They [recently] made a rapprochement from World War II: fundamental change,” he said of the South Korean and Japanese leaders.

The remarks about a trilateral summit came while Biden was explaining the Quad framework of countries working to contain China (the US, Japan, India, and Australia) and discussing the achievements of curbs against China, including an explanation of remarks that he had made to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

If the meetings do take place regularly, the three sides appear poised for closer discussions and cooperation on matters related to China and North Korea. It will also be easier for them to hold in-depth discussions and reach important agreements or make trilateral declarations than in past meetings, which have typically been brief and secondary to other multilateral summits.

For South Korea, this raises the possibility of a framework with greater pressure on it to go along with the intentions of Washington or of Washington and Tokyo than it would face when meeting them individually.

When Yoon met with the US and Japanese leaders during the G7 summit in Hiroshima last May, he announced plans to “advance trilateral coordination to a new level.”

In connection with that, the US has voiced its hopes for such trilateral summits, noting their significance in terms of its Indo-Pacific strategy.

While announcing plans for the summit last Friday, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said the three leaders would “discuss expanding trilateral cooperation across the Indo-Pacific and beyond.”

“The summit will advance a shared trilateral vision for addressing global and regional security challenges, promoting a rules-based international order, and bolstering economic prosperity,” she added.

The greater closeness that arises among the three sides if the trilateral summits are held regularly could also lead to increased closeness on the other side among North Korea, China and Russia. Recently, these three showed off their unity when high-ranking Chinese and Russian delegations attended a “Day of Victory” event held by North Korea to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the armistice that suspended the Korean War.

The move toward regular trilateral summits among South Korea, the US and Japan stands in contrast with the fate of another trilateral summit framework consisting of South Korea, China and Japan. The three pledged in 2008 to hold annual summits — but have not held any since a 2019 event in Chengdu.

Two of the factors behind the suspension of that summit framework were the COVID-19 pandemic and tensions between Seoul and Tokyo over historical matters. South Korea, which currently holds the rotating host country duties, has indicated plans to hold a summit within the year. But it remains to be seen how smoothly the schedule proceeds amid the rising tensions between Washington and Beijing.

Speaking with foreign correspondents in Washington, on Monday, South Korea’s envoy to the US, Ambassador Cho Hyun-dong, explained the significance of the upcoming trilateral summit with the US and Japan as the “first one to be held independently without being linked to another multilateral summit.” He also said it would be the “first summit held at Camp David since President Biden took office.”

“One of the factors behind the summit has been our assertive efforts to improve relations with Japan,” he added.

By Lee Bon-young, Washington correspondent

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