TOKYO (AP) – Japan and South Korea have resumed regular visits between their leaders and agreed to take steps to resolve trade disputes during a long-awaited summit on Thursday, with Japan’s prime minister citing security concerns . They exchanged bonds in an attempt to transcend a difficult century of history.
A summit could revise the strategic map of Northeast Asia. Her two allies in the United States, long at odds in history, are seeking to form a united front, bolstered by shared concerns about a rogue North Korea and a more powerful China.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol spoke on the importance of improving relations as they held a summit on Thursday, hours after a North Korean missile launch and an encounter between Japanese and Chinese ships in disputed waters.
Executive Updates Security Relationships
Kishida said in his opening remarks that the talks would mark the resumption of regular visits between the leaders, which had been suspended for more than a decade. At a joint press conference, he said the two sides had agreed to resume defense dialogue and strategic talks at sub-ministries, resuming the process of trilateral communication between Japan, South Korea and China.
Washington appears to be working hard to make the summit happen. US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said his country and its two allies have held about 40 tripartite meetings and believed working together in the process helped build trust.
South Korea and Japan Sign Reach Agreement to Restore Trade Ties
Hours before the summit began, South Korea’s Commerce Minister Lee Chang-yang said Japan had agreed to lift export restrictions on South Korea after the summit this week, and that South Korea would withdraw its complaints to the World Trade Organization once restrictions were lifted.
Japan and South Korea have had a long-running dispute over Japan’s colonization of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945 and its atrocities during World War II. This included forced prostitution of “comfort women” for Japanese soldiers and territorial disputes over island groups. Relations hit rock bottom in 2018 when South Korea’s Supreme Court ordered Japanese companies to pay compensation to South Korean victims or survivors. Japan soon thereafter imposed trade sanctions on South Korea.
Areas on the move like Washington and Beijing over influence
The summit will take place amid a series of dramatic events highlighting what Kishida called a “serious security environment.”
Washington would welcome improvements in Japan-South Korea relations as disputes over historical issues undermine US efforts to strengthen alliances in Asia. The three nations launched a joint anti-submarine exercise on Thursday, with Canada and India participating.
North Korea launched a missile in the early hours of Thursday morning just before Yun left for Tokyo. Launched on a steep trajectory to avoid the territory of another country, his ICBM crashed into the high seas off Hokkaido, north of Japan. It may have been intended to send a message about both the summit and joint military exercises.
Dinner, post-summit business talks
According to Mr. Kishida’s office, Mr. Kishida and Mr. Yoon were scheduled to have dinner and talk after the summit. According to media reports, Kishida will host a two-part dinner.
At one restaurant, we ate sukiyaki, a beef stew, and at another, we ate omelet rice, or omelet rice, which is said to be Yun’s favorite food.
Also on Thursday, Japan’s powerful economic bodies Keidanren or Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) announced that they had agreed to set up private funding for bilateral projects such as Youth Exchange, respectively. Keidanren said it intends to start with funds worth 100 million yen ($752,420). A dozen business leaders traveling with Yoon are scheduled to meet with their Japanese counterparts on Friday.
