U.S, Japan and South Korea pledge close cooperation at historic summit

In a historic summit Friday at Camp David, President Biden and his counterparts from South Korea and Japan announced they will strengthen military cooperation and turn this first-ever trilateral summit into an annual tradition.

Why it matters: It was Biden's first foreign leader summit at Camp David, and marks a significant step in the rapprochement between Tokyo and Seoul — two U.S. allies whose historically fraught relations have thawed in recent months amid China's increasing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific and ongoing nuclear threats from North Korea.

Driving the news: During the summit, Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida formalized a series of new commitments on diplomatic, economic and military cooperation.

The military agreements include a multiyear military exercise plan, deeper coordination on ballistic missile defense, and a new crisis-communication hotline.