Japan-ROK Summit Meeting (Summary)

On November 16, commencing at 10:55 a.m. (local time. 3:55 a.m. on November17, Japan time) for approximately 35 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 San Francisco for the APEC Leaders’ Week 2023. The summary of the bilateral meeting is as follows.

1. At the outset, Prime Minister Kishida noted the rapid changes that the international community has been undergoing in the time between their last meeting in India in September and today’s meeting, their seventh this year, and stated that it was very encouraging to see close cooperation between Japan and the ROK on the departure of their nationals from Israel. Referring to the various areas of Japan-ROK cooperation such as politics, security, economy and culture that he and President Yoon have been advancing together, he expressed his wishes to further move these cooperative steps forward.
2. The two leaders shared the view that bilateral talks between their governments have been enhanced in a multi-layered manner including at the ministerial level. They welcomed that all the dialogues agreed at the Summit meeting in March have already taken place, with the Japan-ROK Vice-Ministerial Strategic Dialogue held in October.
3. The two leaders welcomed the continued multi-layered and active exchanges between the two countries, including in the private sector, citing recent events such as the joint meeting of the Japan-Korea/Korea-Japan Parliamentarian’s Union, the joint meeting of the Japan-Korea/Korea Japan Cooperation Council, Japan-Korea Governors Meeting, and the “Japan-Korea Exchange Festival.”
4. The two leaders welcomed that cooperation on global issues have also been strengthened between Japan and the ROK. Bearing in mind that both Japan and ROK will soon be working together as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council, they decided to communicate closely across various fields including maintaining and strengthening a free and open order in the Indo-Pacific, the situation in the Middle East, and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The two leaders had a candid exchange of views on the current situation in North Korea, including the continued nuclear and missile activities, and confirmed that they would work closely together bilaterally and trilaterally among Japan, ROK and the US on the response to North Korea, including the abductions issue.
5. The two leaders reaffirmed that the two countries would continue to communicate frequently at all levels including between the leaders.