US, Japan, South Korea begin summit to bolster security amid China tensions

US President Joe Biden has opened a historic summit with Japan and South Korea at Camp David focused on strengthening security and economic ties at a time of increasing concerns about North Korea's persistent nuclear threats and China's provocations in the Pacific.

"Our countries are stronger and the world will be safer as we stand together. And I know this is a belief that all three share," Biden declared on Friday at the start of the meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the presidential retreat in Maryland.

Addressing his fellow leaders at what he called the first standalone summit of the three nations, the American president said: "I want to thank you both for your political courage that brought you here."

Yoon said as the three appeared before reporters that "today will be remembered as a historic day, where we established a firm institutional basis and commitments to the trilateral partnership."

And Kishida said before the private talks that "the fact that we, the three leaders, have got together in this way, I believe means that we are indeed making a new history as of today. The international community is at a turning point in history."

Security pledge

The US, Japan and South Korea have agreed to a new security pledge committing the three countries to consult with each other in the event of a security crisis or threat in the Pacific.

Before the three-way talks, Biden met separately with Yoon and then Kishida in midmorning. The visitors' remarks were translated into English as they spoke to reporters.

The agreement is one of several joint efforts that the leaders were expected to announce at the daylong summit.

"Suffice it to say, this is a big deal," Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters on Friday shortly before the start of the summit. "It is a historic event, and it sets the conditions for a more peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific, and a stronger and more secure United States of America,"

"This partnership is not against anyone, it is for something. It is for a vision of the Indo-Pacific that is free, open, secure and prosperous."

NATO's Pacific version?

The "duty to consult” pledge is intended to acknowledge that the three countries share "fundamentally interlinked security environments" and that a threat to one of the nations is "a threat to all," according to a senior Biden administration official. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to preview the coming announcement.

Under the pledge, the three countries agree to consult, share information and align their messaging with each other in the face of a threat or crisis, the official said.

The summit is the first Biden has held during his presidency at the storied Camp David.

The three leaders were scheduled to hold a news conference later. Biden was hoping to use much of the day with the two leaders as a more informal opportunity to tighten their bond.

Beijing sees the tightening cooperation efforts as the first steps of a Pacific-version of NATO, the transatlantic military alliance, forming against it. US officials expect that North Korea will lash out — perhaps with more ballistic missile test and certainly blistering rhetoric.