Envoys from South Korea, Japan, and China are set to convene discussions to revive trilateral leaders' summit

The annual trilateral meeting among the leaders of these three Northeast Asian nations has been on hold since 2019 due to the COVID-19 outbreak and the occasionally strained relationships among them.

Despite being close economic and cultural partners, their ties have faced challenges related to issues such as Japan's wartime actions, U.S.-China tensions, and North Korea's nuclear program.

The foreign ministers of South Korea, Japan, and China will gather in the southeastern South Korean city of Busan on Sunday to lay the groundwork for their leaders' summit. They will exchange perspectives on enhancing three-way cooperation and address various regional and international matters, according to a statement from Seoul's Foreign Ministry.

Additionally, the three ministers will engage in bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit. In September, senior officials from the three nations reached an agreement to restart the trilateral summit "at the earliest convenient time."

South Korea and Japan, pivotal allies of the United States in the region hosting approximately 80,000 American troops collectively, have faced criticism from Beijing for their recent efforts to strengthen the trilateral Seoul-Tokyo-Washington security partnership. Beijing is particularly sensitive to actions it perceives as attempts to constrain China.

In response to North Korea's launch of a military spy satellite into space on Tuesday night, Seoul, Tokyo, and Washington united in condemning the move, emphasizing the North's endeavors to enhance missile technology and establish a space-based surveillance system. Despite this, China, a key ally of North Korea, urged all concerned nations to remain calm and exercise restraint, echoing previous statements made during North Korea's provocative weapons tests.

The launch itself has drawn condemnation from the international community, as United Nations Security Council resolutions prohibit North Korea from conducting satellite launches, viewing them as a guise for testing long-range missile technology. North Korea contends that it has the sovereign right to launch satellites.