U.S. President Joe Biden, South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stand together for a trilateral meeting at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in San Francisco, California, U.S., November 2023. © Reuters
Steve Park is the general chair of the TriForum Organizing Committee. The TriForum is an independent network of experts and opinion leaders from the U.S., Japan and South Korea that aims to strengthen the trilateral partnership.
Experts in Seoul, Tokyo and especially Washington generally agree that South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has improved his country’s relations with Japan. Recent polls show 42% of Koreans hold a favorable view of Japan, an all-time high. Following the joint trilateral summit at Camp David in 2023, the three sides have continued to maintain a steady pace of collaboration. Foreign ministers from the countries last month agreed to establish a trilateral secretariat to “institutionalize the crucial partnership into the future.”
