S. Korea, U.S., Japan in talks for FMs meeting this month: report

South Korea, the United States and Japan are in talks to arrange a trilateral meeting of their foreign ministers in Germany later this month, a Japanese news report said Friday.

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya is considering attending an annual security conference in Munich, which runs from Feb. 14-16, and hoping to hold a trilateral talk with his South Korean and U.S. counterparts, according to the report by Kyodo News Agency.

If realized, Seoul’s Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul will meet with Iwaya and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

They are expected to discuss their joint efforts to respond to North Korea’s military threats and military cooperation with Russia, security in Europe and the Indo-Pacific regions, and China issues.

Seoul’s foreign ministry has also been pushing for a bilateral meeting between Cho and Rubio.

Earlier this week, Cho’s office said discussions were ongoing with Washington to arrange what would be the first in-person talks between Cho and Rubio since the launch of the Donald Trump administration.

The U.S. and Japanese foreign ministers already held a bilateral meeting in Washington last month.