Amid rising tensions following North Korea’s mention of retaliatory measures after accusing South Korean drones of violating its airspace over Pyongyang, diplomats from South Korea, the U.S., and Japan are set to meet face-to-face in Seoul.
South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong Kyun, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, and Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Masataka Okano will convene in Seoul on October 16 for the 14th trilateral foreign ministers’ meeting.
This will be the first in-person meeting of its kind in five months. The meeting will cover various issues, including cooperation between the three countries on the situation on the Korean Peninsula and regional and global challenges.
Notably, the three officials are expected to exchange in-depth opinions on the heightened risk of accidental clashes between North and South Korea and how the three nations should respond to the current situation.
On Sunday, North Korea, through a major statement from its Foreign Ministry, claimed that South Korea had infiltrated drones into Pyongyang on October 3, 9, and 10, distributing anti-North propaganda leaflets.
Since then, North Korea has continued its aggressive stance. The General Staff of the People’s Army has instructed artillery units near the border and those assigned critical firepower missions to maintain full combat readiness, hinting at the possibility of direct strikes against the South.
Kim Yo Jong, the vice director of North Korea’s Workers’ Party, has also issued repeated statements criticizing the South, threatening that “a terrible disaster will surely occur the moment a drone is spotted again” and making derogatory remarks such as “it will disappear while putting on airs until the moment it dies.”
The upcoming trilateral talks are expected to address these concerns in detail. Officials from the three countries will likely discuss South Korea’s response strategies and emphasize the importance of a unified approach to North Korean provocations. The U.S. is expected to reaffirm its commitment to extended deterrence, ensuring the defense of both South Korea and Japan.
Some experts speculate North Korea could escalate provocations in response to the trilateral efforts. Park Won Gon, a professor at Ewha University, suggested that any military actions from the North could be aimed directly at the U.S., particularly given the presence of Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell at the meeting.
In addition to addressing immediate security concerns, the three nations are expected to accelerate efforts to institutionalize their cooperation, including establishing a trilateral cooperation office. This initiative will be formalized at a summit following the U.S. presidential election.