Hayashi may meet U.S., ROK counterparts in Bali

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:57 JST, July 6, 2022

Japan, the United States and South Korea are planning to hold talks between their foreign ministers, according to Japanese government officials. Discussions would be held on the sidelines of the Group of 20 foreign ministers’ meeting taking place in Bali, Indonesia, on Thursday and Friday,

The trilateral foreign ministerial meeting is expected to discuss how to deal with North Korea’s nuclear and missile development program.

If realized, the meeting will be the first between the three countries since talks were held in Hawaii in February this year. The envisaged meeting will be attended by Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin. It will be the first time for Park to join a meeting with Japanese and U.S. counterparts following the inauguration of the new South Korean administration in May,

The three ministers are expected to discuss concrete measures to bolster deterrence against North Korea, based on discussions at the Japan-U.S.-South Korea summit meeting which was held late last month for the first time in about five years.

Meanwhile, the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting will focus on such themes as the global food crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and energy issues. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is also expected to attend.

According to Japanese government officials, bilateral foreign ministerial meetings between Japan and China as well as Japan and South Korea will likely be postponed. However, officials also said that Japanese and South Korean foreign ministers may arrange informal talks.