South Korea Proposes Hosting 2024 Trilateral Summit with Aim to Further Deter North Korea

By Kazusa Yoda / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent

16:12 JST, December 8, 2023

SEOUL — Seoul has unofficially proposed that it will host a trilateral summit between the leaders of Japan, the United States and South Korea next year, according to South Korean government sources.

However, the possible date of the summit was not specified.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol held a trilateral summit in the United States in August.

By hosting next year’s summit, South Korea aims to further deter North Korea with an eye on the country’s nuclear and missile programs, as Pyongyang launched what it claims were satellites using ballistic missile technology.

Takeo Akiba, secretary general of the National Security Secretariat, is expected to meet his U.S. and South Korean counterparts on Saturday in Seoul to make arrangements for the trilateral summit.