日米韓事務局が初会合　異例のスピード開催

　日米韓３カ国は２０日、安全保障などさまざまな分野での協力を調整する「日米韓調整事務局」の初会合をソウルで開き、連携推進を確認した。事務局新設は石破茂首相、バイデン米大統領、尹錫悦・韓国大統領が１５日の会談で合意したばかりで、異例のスピードでの初開催となった。
　事務局設置は多国間主義に否定的なトランプ次期米大統領の就任を前に、３カ国の連携を「制度化」する狙いがある。初会合には大河内昭博外務省アジア大洋州局審議官、ロバート・ケプキ米国務次官補代理、李元雨韓国外務省北米局審議官が出席した。（2024/11/20-19:53）

Japan, the United States and South Korea held the first meeting in Seoul on Wednesday of their joint secretariat to coordinate trilateral cooperation in various fields including national security.
   The meeting came unusually quickly after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol agreed to establish the secretariat only on Friday.
   The creation of the secretariat is aimed at institutionalizing cooperation among the three countries before the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has been dismissive of multilateralism.
   The Seoul meeting was attended by Akihiro Okochi, deputy director-general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, Robert Koepcke, deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. State Department, and Yi Wonwoo, deputy director-general for North American affairs at the South Korean Foreign Ministry.
   They confirmed that their countries will promote trilateral cooperation.