CAMP DAVID, Md. — President Joe Biden signed historic agreements with the leaders of South Korea and Japan on Friday, working to mend the strained history between the two nations and pledging to enhance their economic and national security interests.
In a direct message to China, Biden hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for the first-ever trilateral meeting among the three countries, not taking place on the sidelines of an international event.
“This marks the first summit held at Camp David, a fitting location to symbolize our new era of cooperation,” Biden stated during a joint press conference at the rustic presidential retreat situated in the Catoctin Mountains, approximately 60 miles north of Washington.
The summit was overshadowed by looming concerns from China and North Korea. Both Japan and South Korea are within range of Pyongyang’s missile tests and have been working to counter China’s growing influence in the region. Biden praised the “courage” of the Asian leaders for putting aside generations of tension and committed that the newly established alliance would be “steadfast in our unity and unparalleled in our determination.”
The extended summit involved the three leaders meeting in a retreat that has been frequented by every U.S. president since Franklin Roosevelt, as well as various foreign leaders including Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, Nikita Khrushchev, and even Vladimir Putin.
By selecting the informal setting of the presidential retreat for its first leaders’ meeting since 2015, the administration aimed to foster what Biden referred to as “the next phase of collaboration” with South Korea and Japan. These two Asian nations have harbored longstanding animosity stemming from Japan’s colonial rule over Korea from 1910 to 1945.
Embracing the relaxed atmosphere away from the formality of the White House, the leaders opted not to wear neckties. Biden held separate discussions with each foreign leader before the joint meeting and press conference. Yoon and Kishida spent approximately seven hours each at Camp David.
The administration unveiled agreements to enhance coordination on ballistic missile defense and information sharing, contribute economic data like an early warning system for supply chain disruptions, and improve coordination on national security matters, including multiyear plans for joint military exercises.
With a focus on threats posed by North Korea and China, the White House aimed to cement the cooperation between the three nations for the long term. Biden emphasized that these agreements would persist, even if Donald Trump were to return to the White House.
“His America First approach, which isolated us from the rest of the world, weakens us instead of making us stronger,” Biden remarked. He added that the summit initiated “institutional adjustments” that “bolster our relationships and ensure their continuity.”
To guard against political changes in any of the three countries, the agreement commits each nation to annual meetings and military exercises, according to National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
Both Japan and South Korea also committed to providing funds to support Hawaii’s recovery from recent devastating wildfires.
White House officials credited Biden for laying the groundwork for these agreements since the start of his term. The president engaged frequently with both leaders, and his officials, including Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, did the same with their counterparts during international gatherings.
White House aides believed that history would regard these agreements as a significant achievement of a president who possesses a strong grasp of foreign policy matters. In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Biden rallied NATO and other democracies to support Kyiv, revitalizing alliances and placing the fight against autocratic regimes at the forefront of his presidency.
For some time, Biden has been focused on China, appearing to come closer to realizing the goal of “pivoting to Asia,” a foreign policy objective that had eluded many of his predecessors. Biden portrayed the 21st century as a period of competition between the United States and China, and several administration officials believed that China’s weakened economy and struggles due to the Covid pandemic had allowed the U.S. to exert greater influence in the Pacific.
To counter China’s influence in the region, the Biden administration also strengthened ties with other nations in the so-called Quad, namely India, Australia, and Japan. The administration facilitated the sale of nuclear submarines to Australia and, amid escalating tensions with Beijing, pressed China not to further assist Moscow in its invasion of Ukraine while seeking its influence over North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
As part of the agreement, the countries committed to establishing a communication channel to promptly share information in the event of a threat, such as a provocation from North Korea.
The principles encompassed new language declaring that the three nations aimed for “the complete denuclearization of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.” Previously, the U.S. had stated its goal as ridding the entire peninsula of nuclear weapons. This phrasing opens up the possibility that the administration might deploy nuclear assets to South Korea, such as the first American nuclear-capable submarine to visit the country in four decades, or perhaps support Seoul’s potential initiation of its own nuclear program.
Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, denied any new policy shift: “This [does] not in any way signal a change in the U.S. approach to North Korea, nor does it signal the possibility of the U.S. returning nuclear weapons to South Korea.”
During the news conference on Friday, Biden downplayed China’s role on the summit’s agenda, though he acknowledged it was a focus. As anticipated, China kept a close watch on the meeting in the Maryland woods.
“Efforts to create various exclusionary groups and introduce confrontational blocs and military alliances to the Asia-Pacific region will not receive support and will only be met with vigilance and opposition from regional nations,” stated Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin.
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