South Korean President: Meeting with the US and Japan is a Turning Point in Tripartite Relations

Yoon Suk-yeol, the President of South Korea, stated on Tuesday, August 15, that this week's meeting with the leaders of the United States and Japan will mark a 'new turning point in trilateral cooperation in the face of evolving nuclear and missile threats from North Korea' and will contribute to 'peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific region.' According to Reuters, in his speech commemorating the anniversary of South Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule from 1910-1945, he emphasized the need to enhance security cooperation with Washington and Tokyo through intelligence assets and immediate data sharing regarding North Korea's nuclear weapons and missiles. On Friday, Yoon Suk-yeol will join US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the presidential residence in Camp David, Maryland, to initiate joint activities in the fields of technology, education, and defense. The news agency reported that Washington, which has formal defense agreements with Tokyo and Seoul, seeks closer cooperation between the two countries due to increasing concerns about China's growing power and worries about its intentions. Meanwhile, North Korea's state news agency announced that Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, and Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, committed on Tuesday through exchanged letters to elevate their relationship to what Kim calls a 'long-term strategic relationship.' The United States has accused North Korea of supplying weapons, including artillery shells, shoulder-fired rockets, and missiles to Russia for use in the war against Ukraine. Both North Korea and Russia deny any arms deals. The North Korean leader has ordered an increase in the production of missiles and other weapons.