Analysis of the trilateral summit between Korea, the U.S., and Japan: Will Camp David Magic work?

Jungkun Seo

Visiting Research Fellow

seojk@khu.ac.kr

On August 18, the leaders of the three countries met at Camp David near Washington in the United States. The meeting between the leaders of the three countries in 2023, including the Korea-Japan summit, the Korea-U.S. summit to mark the 70th anniversary of the Korea-U.S. alliance, and the trilateral summit through the G7 meeting in Hiroshima, is now somewhat familiar to us. However, local media in the U.S. attach great meaning to the meeting between the leaders of the three countries, South Korea, and the U.S. Due to the recess of the U.S. Congress, attention was greatly paid to Biden's strategy of inviting the leaders of South Korea and Japan to the presidential villa in August during the vacation in D.C. It was also an opportunity to meet Biden, the incumbent president who had little contact with the media. In addition, from the perspective of the U.S. media, which is well aware of the past history of Korea and Japan, the historical symbolism of Camp David, the venue for the talks, was a hot topic. Also a talks between two countries, a key ally and economic leader in the Indo-Pacific region clearly showed a purpose of checking against China along with the cooperation led by the President of the U.S. As the question raised at the press conference, the task for the future of trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the U.S., and Japan, which transcends domestic political competition, is also a task to be addressed. Let's take a look at Camp David, the trilateral summit, and future tasks.

Camp David's original name was Shangri-La. Eighty years ago, during the Franklin Roosevelt administration, talks with Churchill began to make its reputation as a presidential retreat. Later, President Eisenhower from the Republican Party renamed the villa to Camp David after his grandson. There was also criticism from Democrats that Eisenhower's only achievement was made without the help of the Democratic Party. During the Cold War, both Eisenhower and Kennedy met with Khrushchev, secretary general of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, at Camp David. The most famous Camp David scene in U.S. diplomatic history was the Camp David Accords, which President Carter made 45 years ago in 1978 when he met with Egyptian President Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Begin. It developed into the first peace treaty between Israel and the Arab states the following year. It may have remained in the memory of Biden, a 36-year-old senator who won re-election in November of the same year. Indeed, since then, many U.S. presidents have expected a diplomatic jackpot, the so-called "Camp David Magic." It is also the background reason for President Biden to hold a trilateral meeting between South Korea, the U.S., and Japan at Camp David, praising himself as the fruit of his efforts over the past two years.

The results of the Korea-U.S.-Japan summit can be examined focusing on two dimensions: the concretization and institutionalization of trilateral cooperation. First of all, in the case of concretization, it is unusual that the results of the talks are divided into three categories: Camp David Principles, Spirit, and Commission to Consult. It is very different from the usual way of issuing a joint statement with action plans. At first glance, it is difficult to identify the difference between the two documents, principles and spirit, and the justification and direction of cooperation between South Korea, the U.S., and Japan. The first paragraph of Camp David's Spirit is that bilateral relations between South Korea, the U.S., and Japan are not only stronger than ever but also stronger thanks to the "courageous leadership" of President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida, who improved relations between the two countries. The leaders of the three countries agreed on regular joint military training, real-time missile warning sharing, North Korea's cyber activities response group, development financial cooperation, maritime security system, women's economic activities, early warning system for supply chain crisis, scientific innovation cooperation, and cancer treatment cooperation during the Talks. Meanwhile, the institutionalization of trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the United States, and Japan has emerged as a major agenda as well. In particular, the core of institutionalization was regularization. The leaders of the three countries met face-to-face at least once a year, as well as promising regular meetings of the three countries' ministers from foreign, defense, and commerce ministries and industry and security advisers. The Korea-U.S.-Japan Indo-Pacific Dialogue was also newly established. At the press conference, it is notable that President Biden emphasized the "new era" and emphasized that he is building "decades and decades of relationships".

As with any summit, the Camp David talk has a lot of challenges in the future. First of all, the more diverse and grand the plans and goals of cooperation, the more important the practice and performance become. The leaders of South Korea, the U.S., and Japan, who have met four times in the past 14 months, should now make their respective national interests visible within the scope of trilateral cooperation. Similar to the Washinton Declaration specific implementation measures in response to North Korea's nuclear weapons to prevent the declaration from becoming nominal. As future cooperation between South Korea, the U.S., and Japan focuses mainly on the exchange of economy and science, there are concerns that the response to North Korea's nuclear threat may have been somewhat pushed back from its priorities. It is also puzzling that some leading U.S. media consider the Camp David talks as a starting point for the South Korea-U.S.-Japan military alliance. In particular, the results of the trilateral talks, in which China was publicly mentioned for the first time, show that it is time for the Korean government to make an independent statement regardless of the U.S. and Japan. Even if trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the U.S., and Japan continues to be strengthened, the three countries cannot have a perfectly consistent, integrated position on all issues. We look forward to the upcoming summit between South Korea, the U.S., and Japan, which will serve as a turning point in protecting our national interests in the future.