Economic ties between the countries have deepened in recent years, although trilateral summits were on hold since 2019 due to the pandemic and political disputes. The latest meeting came at the behest of Beijing, with the trio announcing collaboration in six domains while also addressing shared concerns including North Korea.
Although Beijing pushed to revive trilateralism, Tokyo and especially Seoul find this forum positive too, given many shared interests.
A trilateral free trade agreement is unlikely given burgeoning multilateral free trade groupings in the region.
Pyongyang’s ire towards the trio’s support for denuclearising the Korean peninsula distances it from Beijing, benefiting Seoul and Tokyo.
Moscow's denuclearisation stance may be clarified in a new bilateral pact with Pyongyang tabled by Russian President Vladimir Putin today.
