At Camp David, Biden seeks to cement ‘new era’ with Japan, S.Korea

US President Joe Biden (left), Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (center) and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who will hold a summit at Camp David, greet one another during the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Hiroshima on May 21, 2023

For years, US ambitions in Asia, a top priority as China’s power grows, have faced a seemingly insurmountable obstacle — animosity between Washington’s key allies, Japan and South Korea.

On Friday, President Joe Biden will seize on a breakthrough between the Asian neighbors’ leaders with a first-of-a-kind three-way summit, hoping to institutionalize the new spirit of cooperation.

Against a backdrop of high tensions and rising missile tests by North Korea, Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are expected to announce new initiatives to work together on missile defense, intelligence-sharing and…