In a major geopolitical realignment that can have far-reaching consequences, Japan, South Korea, and China met in a historical trilateral meeting in Tokyo and agreed that peace on the Korean peninsula was a shared responsibility.

The meeting comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula. North Korea said on March 21 that it test-launched new anti-aircraft missiles, as its military threatened unspecified grave steps against the US and South Korea over their joint military drills.

Incidentally, this was North Korea’s sixth weapons testing activity this year and occurred on the same day that the US and South Korean militaries concluded their annual Freedom Shield command post exercise.

Last Month, North Korea said that it had test-fired strategic cruise missiles to demonstrate its nuclear counter-attack capability.

The rare trilateral meeting in Seoul also comes at a time when North Korea is getting increasingly close to Russia. North Korea has sent thousands of soldiers to Russia to aid its war effort against Ukraine. In return, there are apprehensions that Russia can help North Korea with its missile development program.

The meeting assumes significance as relations between South Korea, China, and Japan are riven by historical and territorial disputes. A direct trilateral meeting between them exemplifies the changing geopolitical realignment in the Asia-Pacific.

The meeting also occurred when the US trade tariffs loom over the region.

“Given the increasingly severe international situation, I believe we may truly be at a turning point in history,” Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said at the start of the meeting in Tokyo with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul.

“We reaffirmed that maintaining peace and stability on the Korean peninsula is a shared interest and responsibility of the three countries,” South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said Saturday.

“Additionally, I stressed that illegal military cooperation between Russia and North Korea must be immediately halted,” he said.

Seoul and Tokyo typically take a stronger line against North Korea than China, which remains one of Pyongyang’s most important allies and economic benefactors.

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said he, Cho, and China’s Wang Yi “had a frank exchange of views on trilateral cooperation and regional international affairs… and confirmed that we will promote future-orientated cooperation”.

“The international situation has become increasingly severe, and it is no exaggeration to say that we are at a turning point in history,” Iwaya said at the start of Saturday’s meeting.

“In this context, it has become more important than ever to make efforts to overcome division and confrontation through dialogue and cooperation”, he said.

Wang said that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, and “only by sincerely reflecting on history can we better build the future.”

He added that strengthening cooperation will allow the countries “to jointly resist risks” and promote “mutual understanding” between their populations.

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Ukraine was also on Saturday’s agenda, with Iwaya warning that unilaterally changing the status quo by force was unacceptable anywhere.

“On the situation in Ukraine, I emphasised the need for the international community to unite in calling out that any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo by force will not be tolerated anywhere in the world,” he told reporters.

Climate change, aging populations, and trade were among the broad topics officials had said would be discussed on Saturday, as well as working together on disaster relief and science and technology.

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China and, to a lesser extent, South Korea and Japan have been hit by tariffs put in place by US President Donald Trump in recent weeks, but none of the ministers addressed the issue directly in their statements to the press.

Iwaya said the trio had “agreed to accelerate coordination for the next summit” between the countries’ leaders.

The foreign minister will also hold bilateral talks with both counterparts on Saturday, while Japan and China will have their first so-called “high-level economic dialogue” in six years.

Patricia M. Kim, a foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, said that while “trilateral dialogues have been ongoing for over a decade,” this round “carries heightened significance” due to the new US position.

“Their leaders are under growing pressure to diversify their options and to seek alternative economic opportunities,” she told AFP.

She added that Beijing “has been working actively to improve relations with other major and middle powers amid growing frictions with the United States.”