It was reported that President Yoon Suk Yeol is coordinating a South Korea-Japan summit in Washington, D.C., on the 10th, coinciding with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) meeting.
A senior official from the presidential office met with journalists at a press center in Honolulu Hawai’i this afternoon and stated that in addition to the five previously scheduled bilateral meetings, progress has been made in arranging bilateral meetings with Japan and other countries.
The official stated, “We initially expected there would be at least five bilateral meetings, but now it appears that there could be more than ten, indicating a busy schedule,” adding, “Countries such as Germany, Canada, the Netherlands, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Finland, Japan, Norway, and the United Kingdom are actively progressing as potential candidates.”
The official stated, “However, the final multilateral meeting remains fluid until its conclusion,” and mentioned, “Yoon will participate in approximately 12 additional diplomatic events aside from the main summit, including the NATO-IP4 (South Korea, Japan, Australia, New Zealand) Partner Summit.”
Japanese media cited diplomatic sources and reported that South Korea and Japan are coordinating a summit meeting in conjunction with the NATO summit.
On May 26, Yoon held a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Seoul during the South Korea-China-Japan Summit. If a South Korea-Japan summit takes place, the leaders of both countries will meet face-to-face again after approximately six weeks.
Meanwhile, the meeting between Yoon and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg that was originally scheduled for the 10th has been postponed to the 11th.