“Strategists in Seoul tend to worry that trilateral cooperation with the U.S. and Japan could provoke Pyongyang to cancel exchanges, create costly distance with China or elicit domestic political backlash. But currently there is no inter-Korean cooperation to lose, Beijing is diplomatically isolated because of human rights and the pandemic, and most South Koreans believe relations with Tokyo should be improved. The new Biden administration offers an opportunity for closer trilateral coordination that would give Seoul leverage against North Korean provocations and Chinese economic coercion, make alliance cost-sharing negotiations easier and provide political cover to smooth over historical and trade disputes with Japan.”

by: Leif-Eric Easley