Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung reaffirmed their commitment to security cooperation on Saturday, ahead of Lee’s planned summit with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday.
During his first official visit to Japan since taking office in June, Lee met Ishiba at the prime minister’s residence in Tokyo, where the two discussed bilateral relations, including closer coordination with the United States under a trilateral pact signed by their predecessors.
“Stable relations benefit both our countries and our region,” Ishiba said during expanded summit talks. “It is also crucial that we strengthen our trilateral alliance with the U.S.”
Lee’s surprise election victory—following the impeachment of conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol for declaring martial law—had initially fuelled concerns in Tokyo that ties could deteriorate. Lee has been a vocal critic of previous attempts to ease tensions rooted in resentment over Japan’s 1910–45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
Last week, Seoul expressed “deep disappointment and regret” after Japanese officials visited a Tokyo shrine honouring Japan’s war dead, which many South Koreans regard as a symbol of wartime aggression. Even so, Lee has signalled support for closer ties, including during his first meeting with Ishiba on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada in June.
Despite their differences, both U.S. allies remain heavily dependent on Washington to counter China’s growing influence in the region.
Together they host around 80,000 American troops, dozens of warships and hundreds of military aircraft.
“As the international order has been unsettled recently over trade and security issues, I believe South Korea and Japan, which share values, systems and ideology, should strengthen cooperation more than ever,” Lee said during his talks with Ishiba.
In Washington, Lee and Trump are expected to address security concerns including China, North Korea, and Seoul’s financial contributions towards U.S. forces stationed in South Korea-an issue on which Trump has repeatedly pressed for increases.
Japan and South Korea also see eye to eye on trade, having agreed to 15% tariffs on U.S. imports of their goods after Trump threatened to impose higher duties.
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AnewZ's Orkhan Amashov reports from Munich as the three-day Munich Security Conference kicked off on Friday (13 February), bringing together world leaders, diplomats, and policy makers to discuss pressing global security challenges.
Dubai-based global ports operator DP World said on Friday that its long-serving chairman and chief executive, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, has stepped down following mounting pressure linked to alleged ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The United States is set to deploy an additional 200 troops to Nigeria as part of expanded counterterrorism cooperation, according to a senior Nigerian military source.
The United States is sending a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East amid escalating tensions with Iran, U.S. media outlets reported on Thursday, 12 February, in an effort to reinforce its naval presence as diplomatic efforts falter.
Europe heads into the Munich Security Conference, on Friday (13 February), amid deepening unease over U.S. policy, as President Donald Trump’s hard-line stance on defence, trade and territory fuels doubts about Washington’s long-term commitment to transatlantic security.
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Stalled U.S.–Iran talks and mounting regional tensions are exposing a growing strategic rift between Washington and Tel Aviv over how to confront Tehran, political analyst James M. Dorsey says, exposing stark differences in approach at a critical moment.
BMW is recalling a mid six figure number of vehicles worldwide after identifying a potential fire risk linked to the starter motor.
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Europe needs to develop global partnerships with key nations to tackle global problems together, chancellor tells Munich Security Conference
AnewZ's Orkhan Amashov reports from Munich as the three-day Munich Security Conference kicked off on Friday (13 February), bringing together world leaders, diplomats, and policy makers to discuss pressing global security challenges.
Dubai-based global ports operator DP World said on Friday that its long-serving chairman and chief executive, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, has stepped down following mounting pressure linked to alleged ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched early on Friday, 13 February, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying four astronauts and cosmonauts on an eight-month mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The Crew-12 team includes two Americans, a French astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut.
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