The US president is holding individual meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol on Sunday. The leaders will also meet all three in connection with the summit of the Southeast Asian cooperation organization Asean, which is taking place in Cambodia.
According to US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Biden’s goal with the meetings is to strengthen the countries’ joint response to North Korea’s recent actions. In recent weeks, the country has fired tens of robots, including an intercontinental robot that led to evacuations in northern Japan.
— What we really want to see is improved trilateral security cooperation where the three countries all come together, says Jake Sullivan.
According to Biden’s office, several requests for negotiations – without conditions on limiting North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs – have gone out to North Korea, but have not received a response.
During the talks, Biden also wants to discuss China’s actions in the Pacific region before he meets Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday.