East Asian Leaders to Meet Amid North Korea’s Satellite Launch Plans

Seoul:

South Korean, Chinese and Japanese leaders were due to meet in Seoul on Monday for their first trilateral summit in nearly five years, after the nuclear-armed North announced plans to put another satellite into orbit.

There are few expectations of any major breakthroughs at the meeting, but leaders expressed hope that it could help revitalize tripartite diplomacy and ease regional tensions.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will meet on Monday for talks, with Pyongyang announcing that it will launch a satellite by June 4th will probably be on the agenda.

North Korea informed the Japanese Coast Guard of an eight-day launch window that began at midnight Sunday through Monday.

It designated three maritime danger zones near the Korean peninsula and the Philippines’ main island, Luzon, where debris from the rocket carrying the satellite could land, according to Kyodo news agency.

North Korea is prevented, by several UN resolutions, from carrying out tests using ballistic technology.

Analysts say there is significant technological overlap between space launch capabilities and ballistic missile development.

After the leaders’ summit, Yoon, Li and Kishida will hold a press conference, before participating in a business summit aimed at boosting trade between countries, which will also be attended by top business leaders.

Experts have warned that given the three countries’ sharply divergent positions on key issues, including Pyongyang’s nuclear threats and growing ties with Russia, it will be difficult for them to reach consensus.

“Despite the challenges in organizing this meeting, it is unlikely to produce significant diplomatic achievements,” South Korean newspaper Hankyoreh said in an editorial on Monday.

“However, this meeting is important because it is the only regular communication channel where the leaders of South Korea and Japan, both allies of the United States, can meet with the Chinese leader,” he said.

Seoul should take advantage of the trilateral meeting “to overcome the limitations of tilted diplomacy with Washington and Tokyo and rebuild the structure of trilateral diplomacy of South Korea, China and Japan, which has been out of favor for some time,” Hankyoreh said.

President Xi Jinping is China’s top leader, with Li serving under him as prime minister.

China is North Korea’s biggest trading partner and an important diplomatic ally, and has previously resisted condemning Pyongyang for its weapons tests, instead criticizing joint U.S.-South Korea exercises for increasing tension.

Nuclear-armed North Korea launched its first reconnaissance satellite last November in a move that drew international condemnation, with the United States calling it a “blatant violation” of UN sanctions.

Seoul said on Friday that South Korean and U.S. intelligence officials were “closely monitoring and tracking” alleged preparations for the launch of another military reconnaissance satellite.

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