Japan-ROK Summit Meeting (Summary)
August 19, 2023
[Provisional translation]
On August 18, commencing at 2 p.m. (local time. 3 a.m. on August 19, Japan time) for approximately 20 minutes, Mr. KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan held a Summit Meeting with H.E. Mr. YOON Suk Yeol, President of the Republic of Korea (ROK), during his visit to Camp David, the United States of America for the Japan-U.S.-ROK Summit. The summary of the bilateral meeting is as follows.
- At the outset, Prime Minister Kishida stated that he was delighted to hold a bilateral Summit Meeting with President Yoon for the fifth time this year, following their previous meetings in Tokyo, Seoul, Hiroshima and Vilnius (Lithuania), here in the U.S. Prime Minister Kishida expressed his deepest condolences on the passing of President Yoon’s father, and extended his sympathies once again about the damage caused by the recent heavy rain in the ROK.
- The two leaders welcomed the continued bolstering of a broad range of dialogue and cooperation between the two countries, including the expansion of economic and business interactions, recovery in the number of flights, and the expansion of collaboration in the financial and energy sectors. The two leaders affirmed that their governments would coordinate further towards the holding of the Japan-ROK Vice-Ministerial Strategic Dialogue in this autumn, which the leaders had decided in March to resume early. They also concurred to move forward with preparations for a meaningful discussion at the Japan-ROK high-level economic consultations to be held within this year, following up their meeting in July.
- The two leaders welcomed that the Japan-U.S.-ROK Summit held on the same day was landmark achievement in enhancing coordination between the U.S.-Japan Alliance and ROK-U.S. Alliance and bringing trilateral security cooperation to new heights. The two leaders shared the view on the importance of coordination in the international arena including at the United Nations, bearing in mind that both Japan and ROK will be working together as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council next year.
- The two leaders decided to continue to communicate with each other frequently in the second half of this year, including on the sidelines of various international conferences.