Yi Wonwoo (center), deputy director-general of the North American Affairs Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Robert Koepcke (left), U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Japan, Korea and Mongolia, and Akihiro Okochi, deputy director-general for Asian and Oceanian affairs at Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Nov. 20 pose for a photo at the launching meeting for the Trilateral Secretariat office in Seoul. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
By Margareth Theresia
Korea, the U.S. and Japan on Nov. 20 officially opened their Trilateral Secretariat office in Seoul to systemize cooperation and promote sustainable development among the three allies.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs that day said it held a launching meeting for the secretariat at the ministry’s headquarters in the capital, with representatives from the U.S. Department of State and Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs attending. The opening of the office was announced on Nov. 15 at a summit among the three sides in Lima, Peru.
The meeting was attended by Yi Wonwoo, deputy director-general of the ministry’s North American Affairs Bureau; Robert Koepcke, U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Japan, Korea and Mongolia at the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs; and Akihiro Okochi, deputy director-general of the Asian and Oceanian Bureau of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The ministry in Seoul said the talks covered the specific results of their trilateral cooperation, which has seen unprecedented progress following their summit at Camp David near Washington, and future strategies for running the secretariat.
The secretariat will use a rotational system in which its chief will be from Korea, the U.S. and Japan in that order for a term of two years. The first head will be Deputy Director-general Yi.
“We will screen and coordinate collaborative projects with the U.S. and Japan through the newly launched Trilateral Secretariat in various fields such as security, economy, advanced technology and human exchange, as well as continuously strive for the institutionalization and sustainable development of trilateral cooperation by the three sides.”
margareth@korea.kr
