Chinese President Xi Jinping's decision to hold a summit with South Korean President Park Geun-hye in Seoul without first visiting Pyonyang reflects the rapidly declining relationship between China and North Korea. Xi and Park demonstrated a united front in opposing nuclear weapons development on the Korean Peninsula — albeit without naming North Korea.

Tokyo must not close its eyes to the other aspect of the Xi-Park summit — their latest attempt to forge a common front against Japan. The Abe administration should realize that its diplomacy has had the effect of drawing China and South Korea closer together. The Seoul talks was the fifth meeting between Xi and Park since both leaders took office. Meanwhile Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has yet to have one-on-one talks with either Xi or Park as Japan's relations with both countries have grown increasingly strained over a host of history-related and territorial disputes. The Abe administration should not spare any effort to improve ties with China and South Korea so Japan will not end up isolated in the region.

In a joint statement issued after their July 3 meeting, Xi and Park agreed on the need to resume the six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear weapons program and urged Pyongyang to follow through on its pledges in the September 2005 joint statement at the six-party talks, which called for the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.