What will be the focus of the Japan-China-South Korea summit, being held for the first time in four and a half years?

The South Korean Presidential Office officially announced that a Japan-China-South Korea summit will be held in Seoul on the 27th of this month. This will be the first time the summit has been held in four and a half years since December 2019. South Korea will serve as the chair country.
Prime Minister Tian Wen-hsiung, Chinese Premier Li Qiang, and South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol will attend the summit. Bilateral talks and welcoming events will be held between Japan, China, and South Korea on the 26th.
The focus is on whether the three nations can confirm their cooperation in a wide range of areas, including trade and economic exchanges, and whether they can use this to promote peace and stability in East Asia.
It was the first time that the conference was held in conjunction with the UN Security Council. Since 2008, it has been held independently of international conferences, and has been held periodically in rotation among the three countries.
The two sides have been discussing how to respond to North Korea's ongoing nuclear development and economic cooperation. The summit was held in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China in December 2019, and it was agreed that the two sides would work closely together to respond to North Korea.
They also confirmed that they would promote free trade, including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the China-Japan-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
However, the following year, 2020, saw the deterioration of Japan-Korea relations as well as the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
The Olympics was postponed due to the impact of the 2020 Olympics. It was not held in 2021, 2022, or last year. In March of last year, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited South Korean President Yun Seok-yeol.
At a joint press conference with Ryo, he said, "We agreed on the importance of restarting the high-level Japan-Korea-China process at an early date," showing his eagerness for the resumption of Japan-China-Korea summit meetings.
At the first Japan-China-ROK foreign ministers' meeting in four years and three months held in November last year, then South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said he would consider holding a three-way summit at an early date.
In response, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa made a positive remark about hosting the summit, but Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi reportedly did not mention it directly.
The two sides agreed to accelerate the process to hold the summit "as soon as possible at an appropriate time." China initially tried to approach Japan and South Korea in the wake of the intensifying conflict with the United States, but
However, as the US-China summit was held in Seoul, the mood for dialogue with the US spread, and South Korea became reluctant to hold talks with Japan and South Korea.
The negotiations have been difficult, and so far it has not come to fruition. However, while there are reports that negotiations are underway to hold a Japan-China-South Korea summit this month, the South Korean presidential office announced on the 23rd that a three-way summit will be held.
The three leaders have formally announced that they will hold the summit in Seoul on the 27th. They will share the importance of taking a future-oriented approach to peace and stability in the region.
The three leaders are expected to discuss issues such as military and health security, and are working to draft a joint declaration.
Kim Tae Hee, first vice director of the National Security Office, stressed that the joint declaration "is the result of the combined will of the leaders of the three countries to cooperate, and will serve as a driving force for promoting the implementation of cooperation projects at all levels in the future."
On the other hand, there is a view that not much time will be spent on security issues, including the North Korean nuclear and missile issues. China has been voicing concern that Japan and South Korea may cooperate with the United States in security cooperation.
Currently, Japan has many issues in its relationship with China, and South Korea has also taken a more cautious stance toward China since the Yoon administration came into power.
Relations between the two countries have become strained. In contrast, relations between Japan and South Korea are improving rapidly, so the upcoming Japan-China-South Korea summit will be structured as "Japan-South Korea-China" rather than the traditional "Japan-China-South Korea" one.
Prior to the summit, President Yoon is scheduled to hold separate bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Kishida and Prime Minister Lee on the 26th. Currently, in South Korea, there is a lot of speculation about the leaking of personal information through the communication app LINE.
Following the announcement by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan to ask Yahoo! Inc., which operates the former social media company, to review its capital relationship with South Korean IT giant Naver, backlash has been growing. Kyodo News reported that this issue is "a major factor in the (Japan-South Korea) summit meeting."
It is possible that it will be on the agenda."