▲President Yoon Seok-yeol is taking a commemorative photo with US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Korea-US-Japan summit held at a hotel in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on November 13 last year (local time). (yunhap news)
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida invited President Seok-Yeol Yoon to the G7 summit in May. The Yongsan Presidential Office welcomed this.
Spokesman Lee Do-woon of the presidential office said in a briefing on the 20th, “Prime Minister Kishida’s invitation of President Yoon to the G7 summit in Hiroshima in May is evaluated as a positive step following the results of the Korea-Japan summit.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also welcomed it. In a commentary by the spokesperson, “We welcome the Japanese government’s invitation to our country to the 2023 G7 Summit. As a follow-up to our President’s visit to Japan, we positively evaluate the invitation to the G7,” he said. It is expected to serve as an opportunity to deepen cooperation.”
Earlier, according to Japanese Kyodo News and Yomiuri Shimbun reports, Prime Minister Kishida announced his intention to invite G7 President Yoon to reporters while visiting New Delhi, India on the same day. In addition to Korea, leaders from Brazil, Australia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Comoros, and the Cook Islands were invited. This year’s G7 summit, chaired by Japan, will be held in Hiroshima from May 19 to 21.
Among them, Brazil was invited as the chair of next year’s G20, Indonesia as the chair of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), and the Cook Islands as the Pacific Islands Forum. Korea was invited as a country, not as a chair of regional organizations and multilateral conferences. Australia and Vietnam are the same cases as Korea.
With President Yoon attending the G7 summit, the possibility of a Korea-US-Japan summit has increased. Economic and security cooperation between Korea, the U.S. and Japan is expected to be strengthened as the Korea-U.S.-Japan talks will be held this month and the Korea-U.S. This is because the antagonism between Korea and Japan, which has been an obstacle to cooperation between Korea, the U.S. and Japan, has been somewhat alleviated by the Korea-Japan talks.