S. Korean, Japanese leaders to meet again to improve ties

Seoul, May 7 (BNA): The leaders of South Korea and Japan meet Sunday for their second summit in less than two months, as they seek to mend longstanding historical grievances and strengthen ties in the face of North Korea’s nuclear program. and other regional challenges.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in South Korea on Sunday for a two-day visit, which coincides with South Korean President Yoon Sok-yul’s visit to Tokyo in mid-March. The Associated Press reported that this was the first exchange of visits between the leaders of the Asian neighbors in 12 years.

Prior to his summit with Yoon, Kishida and his wife, Yoko Kishida, visited the Seoul National Cemetery, where they burned incense and paid a silent tribute before the memorial. Most of the Korean War dead are buried or honored at the cemetery, but among them are Korean independence fighters during Japan’s colonial rule 1910-45. Kishida was the first Japanese leader to visit the place in 12 years.

“I hope there will be a frank exchange of views with President Yoon on the basis of our relationship of trust,” Kishida told reporters before leaving for Seoul. “Since March, there have been different levels of communication in areas including finance and defense, and I plan to further develop this ongoing trend.”

South Korean and Japanese officials said Yoon and Kishida will discuss North Korea’s nuclear program, economic security between South Korea and Japan, overall relations, and other unspecified international issues.

At their summit in March, Yoon and Kishida agreed to resume leadership-level visits and other talks. In recent weeks, the two countries have also withdrawn the economic retaliatory steps they had earlier taken against each other in previous years when their historic feud was renewed.

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Relations between Seoul and Tokyo have suffered frequent and intermittent setbacks due to issues stemming from the Japanese colonial occupation.

The latest sticking point in their relationship was the 2018 rulings by courts in South Korea that ordered two Japanese companies to compensate some of their elderly former Korean employees for colonial-era forced labor. The rulings angered Japan, which argued that all reparations issues had already been settled when relations between the two countries normalized in 1965.

In an escalation of tensions, the two countries later downgraded each other’s trade status, while Seoul also threatened to strike a deal to exchange military intelligence. Some activists and residents of South Korea have campaigned to boycott Japanese products as well.

Strained relations between South Korea and Japan have complicated US efforts to build a stronger regional alliance to better deal with growing Chinese influence and North Korean nuclear threats.

But in March, the conservative Yoon government took a major step toward repairing relations by announcing that it would use domestic funds to compensate forced labor victims without requiring contributions from Japanese companies. Later in March, Yoon traveled to Tokyo to meet with Kishida.

Yoon’s payment sparked a backlash from some forced labor victims and his liberal opponents at home, who demanded direct damages from Japanese companies. Yoon defended his decision, saying greater cooperation with Japan is needed to address a range of challenges such as North Korea’s advanced nuclear program, strategic rivalry between the United States and China, and global supply chain problems.

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In late April, Yoon paid a state visit to the United States and agreed with President Joe Biden to strengthen deterrence capabilities against North Korea’s nuclear threats. During a joint press conference, Biden thanked Yoon for “your political courage and personal commitment to diplomacy with Japan.”

“White House officials have expressed some frustration with the tepid response from Tokyo on the forced labor compensation deal, and they hope Kishida will take advantage of the upcoming visit to South Korea in early May to do more,” said Victor Cha, senior vice president for Asia and Korea. Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, wrote an analysis published last week.

Some observers say that if Kishida made a new apology for Japanese colonial wrongdoing during his visit to Seoul, it would likely help Yoon win greater domestic support for his policy on Japan.

After his March summit with Yoon, Kishida said he supported the positions of previous Japanese governments including those in the 1998 Joint Declaration between Tokyo and Seoul on improving relations, but did not offer a new apology. In the 1998 declaration, then-Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi said “I deeply remorse and offer a heartfelt apology” for the colonial rule.

Japanese governments have expressed remorse or apology for the colonial period many times.


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