Seoul – South Korea – August 14, 2025 –
In a significant diplomatic move, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is set to visit Japan this month for a summit with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, ahead of his highly anticipated meeting with President Donald Trump. The visit, which resumes a so-called “shuttle diplomacy” between the two nations, signals a deliberate effort by Seoul to bolster its relationship with Tokyo and forge a united front in the face of shared regional and global challenges.
President Lee’s two-day visit to Japan, scheduled for August 23-24, will be his first since taking office in June. The visit is particularly noteworthy given the historically fraught relationship between South Korea and Japan, which has been strained for years over issues related to wartime history and trade disputes. Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung stated that the two leaders will seek to solidify a “future-oriented cooperation” and will discuss ways to strengthen the trilateral cooperation with the United States. This visit follows their first meeting on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada in June, where they had vowed to deepen their relationship.
The timing of this visit is no coincidence. It is clearly intended as a preparatory step for Lee’s upcoming summit with President Trump in Washington, D.C., on August 25. Analysts believe that Lee may seek advice from Ishiba, who has already met with the US president, on how to navigate the complex and often unpredictable nature of the Trump administration. Both Seoul and Tokyo feel an urgent need to present a united front and respond jointly to the challenges posed by Washington, which has unsettled allies with its tariff hikes and demands for allies to increase their defense spending. South Korea and Japan recently concluded trade deals with the US that shielded their trade-dependent economies from Trump’s highest tariffs, but the pressure to align with US policy remains a constant.
The agenda for the Lee-Ishiba meeting is expected to be comprehensive, focusing on several key areas of mutual concern. A primary focus will be security cooperation against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats. The leaders will also discuss ways to strengthen their strategic partnership in the Indo-Pacific region, especially in the context of China’s growing military influence. Other topics on the table include cooperation in technology, supply chains, and economic partnerships. There is also an understanding that Lee will seek to keep references to contentious historical issues to a minimum, instead focusing on a forward-looking agenda to avoid derailing the fragile progress in their bilateral ties.
The resumption of “shuttle diplomacy” and the push for stronger trilateral cooperation with the US marks a significant shift in South Korea’s foreign policy under President Lee. Since his inauguration, Lee has promoted a more pragmatic approach to foreign affairs and has prioritized strengthening Seoul’s alliance with Washington and its trilateral relationship with Tokyo. This move is also seen as a strategic message to the world, and to the Trump administration in particular, that South Korea is committed to its key alliances.
The visit also underscores the growing importance of the trilateral alliance in the face of a rapidly changing global security environment. With North Korea accelerating its weapons development and the US and China locked in a fierce rivalry, the need for closer coordination among Washington, Seoul, and Tokyo has become paramount. President Lee’s diplomatic tour, beginning in Tokyo and concluding in Washington, is a clear indication that his administration intends to play a central role in shaping the region’s security architecture. The outcome of these high-stakes meetings will have significant implications for the stability of the Korean Peninsula and the broader Indo-Pacific region.
