- Title: Japan, China, South Korea meet at geopolitical 'turning point in history'
- Date: 22nd March 2025
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (MARCH 22, 2025) (FOREIGN POOL) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** JAPANESE FOREIGN MINISTER TAKESHI IWAYA, SOUTH KOREAN FOREIGN MINISTER CHO TAE-YUL, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER WANG YI AND OFFICIALS BEING SEATED FOR MEETING (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) JAPANESE FOREIGN MINISTER, TAKESHI IWAYA, SAYING: “The international situation has become increasingly severe
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: China Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Cho Foreign Japan Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya Minister Ministers South Korea South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul Takeshi Trilateral Wang diplomacy
- Location: TOKYO, JAPAN
- City: TOKYO, JAPAN
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001082322032025RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Top diplomats from Japan, China and South Korea met in Tokyo on Saturday (March 22) as the East Asian neighbours seek common ground on regional security and economic issues amid growing geopolitical uncertainty.
"The international situation has become increasingly severe, and it is no exaggeration to say that we are at a turning point in history," Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said at the start of the meeting he was hosting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul.
The first meeting of the countries' foreign ministers since 2023 comes as U.S. President Donald Trump upends decades-old alliances, and is expected to cover topics from North Korean nuclear weapons to trade and pave the way for a trilateral summit, following one in Seoul last year.
"It has become more important than ever to make efforts to overcome divisions and confrontations through dialogue and cooperation,” Iwaya said at the trilateral meeting.
Tokyo and Seoul are close allies to Washington, hosting thousands of U.S. troops on their soil. All of them consider China, the world's second-biggest economy, a challenge to regional security.
Iwaya is to meet separately with his Chinese and South Korean counterparts, including the first high-level economic dialog with Beijing in six years.
That meeting will include discussion of a ban on Japanese seafood imports imposed by China after the release of wastewater from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant from 2023, Iwaya said this week.
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