President Yoon Suk Yeol has stressed the need to revitalize cooperation among South Korea, Japan and China as he described such cooperation as the basis of development of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) Plus Three.

Yoon made the remark in an opening statement at the ASEAN Plus Three(APT) summit held behind closed doors in Jakarta on Wednesday as he cited that APT has pursued the vision of the East Asian community.

Yoon said APT must provide a new turning point in cooperation, stressing the need for new resolve to contribute to the growth-oriented advancement of ASEAN by overcoming pending complex crises, including geopolitical competition and climate change. 

In particular, the president said Seoul will closely communicate with Tokyo and Beijing to swiftly resume various cooperation mechanisms, including three-way summits. 

Yoon said revitalizing cooperation among South Korea, Japan and China will provide the foundation for APT cooperation to make a new leap forward. 

On North Korea, Yoon said the international community must unitedly make clear to Pyongyang that its nuclear weapons and missile development programs won’t be tolerated.  

According to the top office, Yoon proposed the direction of APT cooperation based on three perspectives, including strengthening recovery, future innovation and investment toward future generations.