Top Diplomats of South Korea, U.S., Japan Meet in Manila Amid North Korea Ties with Russia, China

Foreign ministers of South Korea, the United States, and Japan gathered in Manila on Wednesday for trilateral talks to explore ways to strengthen security and economic cooperation and coordinate on North Korea, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.

The meeting, held on the sidelines of a series of ministerial meetings related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), brought together South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. The three diplomats are in the Philippine capital to attend the ASEAN Regional Forum, the East Asia Summit foreign ministers' meeting, and other related gatherings.

The trilateral meeting took place two weeks after the three countries held talks on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit on July 7.

The meeting was expected to cover a range of issues, including developments on the Korean Peninsula and in the Middle East, economic security, and responses to transnational online crimes, according to ministry officials.

Seoul's foreign ministry spokesperson Park Il said Tuesday that the three ministers were expected to share assessments of recent developments in North Korea's relations with Russia and China and exchange views on effective ways to respond.

Seoul has maintained that growing exchanges between North Korea and Russia, as well as between Pyongyang and Beijing, should contribute to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and help bring the North back to the dialogue table.

North Korea appears likely to skip the ASEAN Regional Forum for the second consecutive year, as it continues to focus on bilateral diplomacy with Russia and China while shunning multilateral diplomatic engagements.

The three countries also signed a memorandum of cooperation to establish a framework for cooperation on accelerating the deployment of small modular reactors in third countries, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.

Bilateral U.S.-South Korea Talks

Separately, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held brief "pull-aside" talks before and after the trilateral meeting, according to a senior Seoul official. During those talks, Cho highlighted recent progress in economic cooperation, including the opening of the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Cooperation Center in Washington this week.

Cho also called for advancing discussions on security issues, including revisions to the Korea-U.S. nuclear energy agreement, known as the 123 Agreement, to allow uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing, as well as Seoul's push to develop nuclear-powered submarines.

The two sides had planned to hold another round of security consultations in July following their inaugural meeting last month, but a detailed schedule has yet to be announced amid Washington's focus on the Middle East conflict and other priorities. The consultations, along with Seoul's investment commitments and bilateral shipbuilding cooperation, are among the key items outlined in a joint fact sheet adopted after last year's summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Tensions Over Coupang

The Cho-Rubio meeting also came amid U.S. concerns about Seoul's regulatory actions involving U.S.-listed e-commerce giant Coupang over its massive data leak. Tensions surrounding Coupang renewed concerns about their potential impact on broader relations between the allies.

A report by the House Judiciary Committee and a White House official criticized South Korea for what they described as discriminatory measures against U.S. companies. Seoul has expressed regret over such responses, stressing that all regulatory measures involving Coupang were taken lawfully "in a fair and non-discriminatory manner."

Background

The trilateral talks and bilateral discussions come as Seoul and Washington work to implement a joint fact sheet released in November last year following a summit between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump. The summit agreements include Seoul's US$350 billion investment package in the U.S. in exchange for a reduced U.S. tariff rate, as well as U.S. support for South Korea's push to acquire nuclear-powered submarines and secure uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing capabilities for peaceful purposes.