TOKYO (AP) – In the midst of high-level efforts to deal with a number of global emergencies, this weekend’s G7 summit of wealthy democracies saw an unusual turnout as leaders from both Japan and South Korea sought to further improve relations.
At first glance, the two next to each other look like natural partners. These are strong progressive democracies and staunch allies of the United States in a region plagued by authoritarian threats. But the remnants of centuries of complex and bitter history, culminating in the brutal Japanese colonization of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945, have caused alarm rather than friendship.Â
Much of the recent sudden shift in tone has been about China’s growing aggression, the threat posed by North Korea’s rapid stockpile of nuclear-capable missiles, and the impact Russia’s war on Ukraine is having on both issues. This is attributed to a common focus on the deep concerns of . Washington’s diplomatic push to give two of its allies military protection and call for greater efforts to counter China’s growing global influence also helped.
The G7 summit, which runs Friday through Sunday, will allow leaders to forge new ties, with Kishida, Yoon and Biden set to sit on the sidelines, but at the same time mobilize the most powerful heads of state to lead the world. try to persuade people. This is to strengthen defense cooperation, just as China and North Korea are expanding their military positions in the region.
Seoul and Tokyo have had historical issues for a long time. Relations soured in 2018, for example, when a South Korean court ruling ordered two Japanese companies to compensate a group of South Korean plaintiffs for their use in wartime slave labor. Disagreements over the ruling have since expanded to issues of trade and military cooperation. Japan claims that all reparations issues were settled by the 1965 treaty that established diplomatic relations.
The meeting between Yoon and Kishida came after his government announced a domestically unpopular plan in March to use funds from South Korean companies to compensate forced laborers. The move is aimed at stopping courts from liquidating local assets of Japanese companies, which could lead to new diplomatic violations.
Kishida agreed to resume defense, trade and other talks in a meeting with Yoon, and Japan recently announced it was negotiating a deal with the United States and South Korea to share real-time data on North Korean missile launches.Â
Japan is one of many countries in Asia with territorial disputes with China, and has played a key role in Mr. Kishida’s quest to distance Japan from postwar doctrines of pure self-defense. Last year, the Japanese government adopted a new national security strategy that included acquiring first-strike capabilities and cruise missiles to counter threats from North Korea, China and Russia.
Alarmed by the growing North Korean threat, which has tested about 100 missiles since early 2022, Yoon has used improved ties with Japan to form a stronger alliance with the United States.Â
While the Yun administration has expanded joint military exercises with the United States, including trilateral joint exercises with Japan, it has adopted a more forceful approach of using nuclear weapons swiftly and decisively to protect its allies in the event of a North Korean nuclear attack.
As part of further confidence-building, Kishida and Yoon will pay tribute to South Korea’s atomic bomb victims at a memorial in Hiroshima.
But while relations are improving, it’s unclear how long the settlement will last.
After decades of poverty and dictatorship following the Korean War of 1950-1953, South Korea emerged as a developed economic and military powerhouse. However, there is a major policy vacillation between the conservative government, which seems to be in power, and the liberal government, which is skeptical of strengthening ties with the United States and Japan.
And with historical issues such as the ongoing forced labor trial, Snyder said, “Like a landmine, buried not far from the surface, it’s about to be blown up.”
