The inaugural U.S.-Japan-South Korea trilateral summit will yield defense and intelligence arrangements to confront security challenges in Northeast Asia, but its main purpose is to institutionalize a relationship fraught with historical baggage and future uncertainty. On Aug. 18, U.S. President Joe Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will convene at the U.S. presidential retreat Camp David for what will be the first-ever dedicated summit between their three countries. The meeting will focus on deepening military and intelligence collaboration between the United States, Japan and South Korea, while also undertaking a broader scope with respect to economic security, emerging technologies and non-government diplomacy (such as among business and academic leaders). Japan and South Korea remain unlikely to accede to a trilateral pact that would require them to come to each other's defense in the event of an attack. But the three countries' current leaders...
