YOON HOLDS TALKS WITH U.S. & JAPAN

[Anchor Lead]

After a trilateral summit of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan, President Yoon also held bilateral talks with his American and Japanese counterparts. In addition to their shared concern, North Korea, the leaders also discussed the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and compensation for the victims of wartime forced labor.

[Pkg]

President Yoon met with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden at the venue of their talks. It's their first summit since Biden's visit to Korea six months ago. The meeting lasted 50 minutes, longer than planned. The two leaders agreed to use all available means to counter North Korea's nuclear threats in any form with overwhelming force. They also discussed disadvantages that Korean electric carmakers face. Yoon said the two countries are discussing the matter closely. Biden responded by saying the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act should be discussed with consideration of Korean businesses' contributions to the U.S. economy. Pundits say Biden's remarks go a step further from what he said before that he is well aware of Korea's concerns. However, it will likely take a while to find a concrete solution. South Korea has officially expressed willingness to join the Partners in the Blue Pacific initiative launched by the U.S. back in June. With most of its members being QUAD and AUKUS members, Seoul's decision is construed to be in line with Washington's competition against China. At the Korea-Japan summit, the two leaders discussed issues of bilateral concern. Rather than stating, "compensation for victims of wartime forced labor," the matter was described as a "pending issue." All that was said was that active communication is underway between the two nations and they will continue discussions. The two leaders condemned North Korea's ballistic missile launches as a serious and grave provocation. They have agreed to counter Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs with a UNSC response and stronger trilateral cooperation with the U.S. in national security.