▲ U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is seen speaking during a press briefing at the department in Washington on Aug. 15, 2023 in this captured image. (Yonhap)
▲ South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol (L), U.S. President Joe Biden (C) and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida attend a trilateral summit at the IFEMA Convention Center in Madrid on June 29, 2022. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) Blinken-trilateral summit

(LEAD) Trilateral summit of S. Korea, U.S., Japan to strengthen global peace, stability: Blinken

(ATTN: UPDATES with additional remarks from Blinken in paras 11-15; ADDS photo)

By Byun Duk-kun

WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 (Yonhap) -- The upcoming trilateral summit between South Korea, Japan and the United States will help strengthen their joint efforts to promote peace and stability not only in the region but around the world, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday.

The top U.S. diplomat also noted that the countries will likely hold regular meetings down the road.

"This summit comes at a moment when our region and the world are being tested by geopolitical competition, by climate crisis, by Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, by nuclear provocations," he told a press briefing.

"Our heightened engagement is part of our broader efforts to revitalize, to strengthen, to knit together our alliances and partnerships, and, in this case, to help realize a shared vision of an Indo-Pacific that is free and open, prosperous, secure, resilient and connected," added Blinken.

The White House said earlier that President Joe Biden will host South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at Camp David on Friday.

Blinken noted the summit will be the first-ever "standalone" trilateral summit of the countries, while Yoon and Kishida will also be the first foreign leaders to visit the U.S. presidential retreat since 2015.

"Japan and South Korea are core allies, not just in the region but around the world," Blinken said. "Strengthening our trilateral cooperation is critical to delivering for our people, for the region and for the world."

The trilateral summit will cover a wide range of issues, "including security questions, including economic security questions, but also including things like coordination on development aid, on humanitarian assistance, on shaping the use of emerging technologies, greater people-to-people exchanges," the secretary said.

To this end, the leaders are well expected to agree to holding regular three-way meetings in the future, according to Blinken.

"On the trilateral cooperation, I think what you can expect to see coming out of this summit is a collaboration on a trilateral basis that is further institutionalized in a variety of ways to include regular meetings that are at a variety of levels, at senior levels in our governments," he told the press briefing.

When asked about possible deterioration of Seoul-Tokyo relations due to Japan's plan to release treated water from its destroyed Fukushima nuclear power plant, the U.S. secretary of state reaffirmed U.S. support for the Japanese plan.

"With regard to the release of water from Fukushima, we are satisfied with Japan's plans, which are safe and in accordance with international standards. including, critically, the IAEA nuclear safety standards," he said.

On the proposed release of Iranian assets currently frozen in South Korean banks, the top U.S. diplomat insisted the money will only be used for humanitarian purposes under full U.S. visibility.

"Funds in question are not American funds. They are not American taxpayer money. They are Iranian funds that have been in South Korean banks for a number of years," he said when asked about the issue.

"This is a way of actually facilitating their use strictly for humanitarian purposes and in a strictly controlled way," he added. "Iran will not have direct access to these funds. There will be significant oversight and visibility from the United States.

Blinken also offered condolences to the South Korean president for the loss of his father on Tuesday (Korea time).

"I want to take this moment before saying anything else to extend the deepest condolences of the United States to President Yoon on the passing of his father. He was by all accounts a remarkable scholar and, among other things, a strong proponent of relations between the ROK and Japan," he said, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.

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