Japan, South Korea balk at sharing stage after US talks

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER and MATTHEW LEE
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S.-sponsored show of alliance with Japan and South Korea has stumbled after American diplomats apparently couldn’t convince their Asian allies to share a news conference stage. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman was due to hold a press conference Wednesday at the State Department with her counterparts from South Korea and Japan. Instead, she sat at a table alone, taking question from reporters. Sherman cites “some bilateral differences” between those two U.S. allies “that are continuing to be resolved, unrelated to today’s meeting.” Japan and South Korea have no shortage of disputes, but they have rarely, if ever, forced the cancellation of a three-way display of unity on North Korea with the United States.