President Joe Biden will host a three-way summit with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida here in Washington next month, the White House said Friday.
The trilateral summit will be held at Camp David on Aug. 18.
"At the summit, the leaders will celebrate a new chapter in their trilateral relationship as they reaffirm their strong bonds of friendship and the ironclad alliances between the United States and Japan, and the United States and the Republic of Korea," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a press release, referring to South Korea by its official name.
The proposed summit will be the first stand alone trilateral summit to be held as the leaders of the U.S., South Korea and Japan had only held trilateral summits on the sidelines of other gatherings such as regional meetings in the past, Seoul officials have noted.
John Kirby, National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, said the summit will also mark the first visit to Camp David by a foreign leader since 2015.
"At the summit, the leaders will celebrate a new chapter in their trilateral relationship and they will reaffirm strong bonds of friendship," Kirby told a telephonic press briefing.
Particularly, the leaders will discuss threats posed by North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile programs, according to Jean-Pierre.
"The three leaders will discuss expanding trilateral cooperation across the Indo-Pacific and beyond -- including to address the continued threat posed by the DPRK and to strengthen ties with ASEAN and the Pacific Islands," the White House spokesperson said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
"The summit will advance a shared trilateral vision for addressing global and regional security challenges, promoting a rules-based international order, and bolstering economic prosperity," she added.
North Korea staged an unprecedented 69 ballistic missiles launches in 2022, marking a new record for the number of ballistic missiles fired in a year.
Pyongyang also launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in late May, marking its 12th ICBM test since the start of last year.
Source: Yonhap News Agency