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Japan, China, South Korea Meet at Geopolitical ‘Turning Point in History’

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul (R) shake hands as Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (C) smiles at a joint press conference during the 11th Japan-China-South Korea (Japan-China-ROK) Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Tokyo, Japan, 22 March 2025. (EPA)
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul (R) shake hands as Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (C) smiles at a joint press conference during the 11th Japan-China-South Korea (Japan-China-ROK) Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Tokyo, Japan, 22 March 2025. (EPA)
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Japan, China, South Korea Meet at Geopolitical ‘Turning Point in History’

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul (R) shake hands as Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (C) smiles at a joint press conference during the 11th Japan-China-South Korea (Japan-China-ROK) Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Tokyo, Japan, 22 March 2025. (EPA)
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul (R) shake hands as Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (C) smiles at a joint press conference during the 11th Japan-China-South Korea (Japan-China-ROK) Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Tokyo, Japan, 22 March 2025. (EPA)

The top diplomats from Japan, China and South Korea met in Tokyo on Saturday, seeking common ground on East Asian security and economic issues amid escalating global uncertainty.

"Given the increasingly severe international situation, I believe we may truly be at a turning point in history," Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said at the start of the meeting in Tokyo with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul.

The three agreed to accelerate preparations for a trilateral summit in Japan this year that would also include talks on how Tokyo, Beijing and Seoul can tackle declining birthrates and aging populations, Iwaya said in a joint announcement after the meeting.

The first gathering of the countries' foreign ministers since 2023 comes as US President Donald Trump upends decades-old alliances, potentially opening the door for China to forge closer ties to countries traditionally aligned with Washington.

"Our three nations have a combined population of nearly 1.6 billion and an economic output exceeding $24 trillion. With our vast markets and great potential, we can exert significant influence," Wang said. China, he added, wants to resume free trade talks with its neighbors and expand membership of the 15-nation Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.

However, deep divisions remain. Beijing is at odds with Tokyo and Seoul on several key issues, including its support of North Korea, its intensifying military activity around Taiwan, and its backing of Russia in its war with Ukraine.

US allies Japan and South Korea, which each host thousands of US troops, share Washington’s view that China - the world’s second-largest economy - poses a growing threat to regional security.

Cho said he had asked China in the meeting to help persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons.

"I also stressed that illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea should stop immediately, and that North Korea should not be rewarded for its wrongdoings in the course of bringing about the end of the war in Ukraine," he added.

Iwaya met separately with his Chinese and South Korean counterparts, including the first high-level economic dialogue with Beijing in six years.

A key issue for Tokyo in the talks with Beijing is a ban on Japanese seafood imports imposed by China after the release of wastewater from the destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant from 2023.

Iwaya said he confirmed a commitment by China made in September to allow imports of marine products and also asked about expanding imports of Japanese agricultural products, including beef and rice.

"I emphasized that it is important to prioritize resolving those issues that can be addressed early," Iwaya told reporters after the meeting.

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South Korean Court Reinstates Impeached PM Han Duck-soo as Acting President

Acting President Han Duck-soo (R), who concurrently serves as prime minister, shakes hands with Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok during a meeting with Cabinet members at the government complex in Seoul, South Korea, 24 March 2025, following the Constitutional Court's dismissal of his impeachment that reinstated him as acting president in the ongoing turmoil over suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol's brief imposition of martial law. EPA/YONHAP SOUTH KOREA OUT
Acting President Han Duck-soo (R), who concurrently serves as prime minister, shakes hands with Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok during a meeting with Cabinet members at the government complex in Seoul, South Korea, 24 March 2025, following the Constitutional Court's dismissal of his impeachment that reinstated him as acting president in the ongoing turmoil over suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol's brief imposition of martial law. EPA/YONHAP SOUTH KOREA OUT
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South Korean Court Reinstates Impeached PM Han Duck-soo as Acting President

Acting President Han Duck-soo (R), who concurrently serves as prime minister, shakes hands with Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok during a meeting with Cabinet members at the government complex in Seoul, South Korea, 24 March 2025, following the Constitutional Court's dismissal of his impeachment that reinstated him as acting president in the ongoing turmoil over suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol's brief imposition of martial law. EPA/YONHAP SOUTH KOREA OUT
Acting President Han Duck-soo (R), who concurrently serves as prime minister, shakes hands with Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok during a meeting with Cabinet members at the government complex in Seoul, South Korea, 24 March 2025, following the Constitutional Court's dismissal of his impeachment that reinstated him as acting president in the ongoing turmoil over suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol's brief imposition of martial law. EPA/YONHAP SOUTH KOREA OUT

South Korea's Constitutional Court reinstated Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to the post of acting president on Monday, striking down his impeachment as he pledged to focus on steering Asia's fourth-biggest economy through a US "trade war".
The ruling, which comes amid months of political turmoil in the country, returns Han to power immediately, Reuters reported. He took over as acting leader from President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was himself impeached over his brief imposition of martial law in December.
"I believe the people are making it very clear, in one voice, that the extreme confrontation in politics must stop," said Han, who thanked the court for its "wise decision" and the cabinet for their hard work while he was suspended.
"As acting president, I will do my best to maintain stable state administration, and devote all wisdom and capabilities to safeguard national interests in the trade war," Han said in televised comments.
South Korea, one of the world's top exporters, has been bracing for the potential impact of a range of threatened tariffs under US President Donald Trump.
South Korea has already seen US tariffs on steel and aluminum and has been seeking an exemption from reciprocal US tariffs due to come in next month. Earlier this month, Trump singled out South Korea for applying high tariffs on US exports.
Yoon's martial law declaration plunged the key US military ally into its greatest political crisis in decades, and sparked a leadership vacuum amid spiraling impeachments, resignations, and criminal indictments for a range of top officials.
Han had initially lasted less than two weeks in the post and was impeached and suspended on December 27 after clashing with the opposition-led parliament by refusing to appoint three more justices to the Constitutional Court.
The justices on the court ruled on Monday seven to one to strike down the impeachment.
Five of the eight justices said the impeachment motion was valid, but there were not enough grounds to impeach Han as he did not violate the constitution or the law, according to a court statement.
Two justices ruled that the impeachment motion against Han, who was acting president at the time, was invalid from the start as two-thirds of lawmakers in parliament did not pass it.
One justice voted to impeach Han.
Han, 75, had served in leadership positions for more than three decades under five presidents, both conservative and liberal.
In a country sharply divided by partisan rhetoric, Han had been seen as a rare example of an official whose varied career transcended party lines.
Still, the opposition-led parliament accused him of not doing enough to thwart Yoon's decision to declare martial law, an accusation he denied.
Lee Jae-myung, head of the opposition Democratic Party, said Han's ruling must be accepted but urged the Constitutional Court to swiftly make a decision on President Yoon's impeachment.
The court is expected to rule within days, though its deliberations have dragged out longer than expected. Yoon also faces a separate criminal trial on charges of leading an insurrection by declaring martial law.
If Yoon is removed, a new presidential election will be held within 60 days.
"The court's continued delay in ruling is fueling concern and conflict ... We can now anticipate the situation going beyond a psychological civil war to become an actual physical civil war," said Lee, who is leading in opinion polls to win an election if Yoon is removed.
South Korea has seen huge, mostly peaceful, rallies both in support of Yoon and calling for his removal in recent months.
Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok had assumed the position of acting president while the cases of Yoon and Han were considered by the Constitutional Court.
The unexpected imposition of martial law on December 3 and the ensuing political upheaval sent shockwaves through South Korea, and raised concern among allies such as the United States under former President Joe Biden, who had seen Yoon as a key partner in efforts to counter China and North Korea.
The martial law in the end only lasted about six hours after lawmakers defied a security cordon around parliament and voted to reject the declaration.