Japan and South Korea agreed Thursday to resume reciprocal visits by their leaders, suspended for 12 years, as the two Asian neighbors attempt to improve bilateral ties by seeking to resolve what became a major row over a wartime labor dispute.
During talks in Tokyo, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is the first South Korean president to visit Japan in four years, also confirmed that they will maintain “close communication” in various fields to help strengthen the bilateral relationship.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (L, front) and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (R, front) hold talks at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo on March 16, 2023. (Kyodo)
Yoon’s two-day visit to Japan with his wife, Kim Keon Hee, comes after South Korea announced a proposal to settle the wartime labor dispute last week, something Kishida has called a “big step” toward a thaw in ties between Tokyo and Seoul.
At a joint press conference after the talks, Kishida hailed Seoul’s solution, saying that bolstering bilateral relations is an “urgent matter,” and that he will consider visiting South Korea “at an appropriate time.”
Kishida also said that Japan will soon resume security talks with South Korea involving discussions between foreign and defense ministry officials from both countries, amid escalating missile and nuclear threats from North Korea and China’s increasing military assertiveness. Such talks were last held in 2018.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (R) and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shake hands during a joint press conference following their talks at the prime minister’s office in Tokyo on March 16, 2023. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
Earlier Thursday, North Korea fired what appeared to be an intercontinental ballistic missile in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions imposing economic sanctions on the nation.
The ballistic missile is believed to have fallen outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan. Before departing for Tokyo, Yoon held a National Security Council meeting, during which he said North Korea would have to pay the price for its reckless provocations.
As part of efforts to deepen bilateral cooperation, Kishida and Yoon also agreed to set up an economic security dialogue that will allow both countries to discuss ways they can strengthen semiconductor supply chains to help meet the challenge of a global chip shortage.
In a meeting on Thursday with South Koreans living in Tokyo, Yoon emphasized the importance of both nations working together going forward and expressed hope that they will play a significant role in building “future-oriented” bilateral ties.
The last time a South Korean president visited Japan was in June 2019 for the Group of 20 summits in Osaka. But then South Korean President Moon Jae In did not hold bilateral talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Under the proposal, a South Korean government-backed foundation will pay compensation to plaintiffs who won lawsuits over their alleged forced labor during Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula instead of the companies that were sued.
Relations between Tokyo and Seoul plunged to the lowest point in decades under Moon after South Korea’s top court in 2018 ordered the two Japanese companies — Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Nippon Steel Corp. — to compensate the plaintiffs.
But Yoon, who took office in May 2022, has been trying to improve ties with Japan while strengthening military cooperation with the United States as North Korean missile launches continue jeopardizing security in the region.
Kishida, who became prime minister in October 2021, has said the proposal by South Korea will help restore “healthy” relations between Tokyo and Seoul.
The South Korean public, however, is divided, with a recent opinion poll showing that nearly 60 percent of respondents are not in favor of the proposal as it does not include an apology or compensation from Japan.
With some opposition party members saying the Yoon administration’s proposal is “humiliating,” three surviving South Korean plaintiffs have rejected the government’s compensation plan.
Reciprocal visits by Japanese and South Korean leaders, called “shuttle diplomacy,” has been halted since December 2011, when then-President Lee Myung Bak came to Kyoto for talks with Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.
The following is a list of recent events related to ties between Japan and South Korea.
Oct. 30, 2018 — South Korea’s Supreme Court orders steelmaker Nippon Steel Corp. to compensate Korean plaintiffs for forced labor during Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. The court issues a similar ruling to machinery manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. on Nov. 29.
Nov. 21 — South Korea announces the dissolution of a foundation created under a 2015 bilateral agreement that distributed Japanese money to Korean women forced to work in Japanese military brothels during World War II as well as their relatives.
Dec. 21 — Japan says a South Korean destroyer locked its fire-control radar on a Japanese defense force patrol plane over the Sea of Japan. South Korea denies the accusation.
June 27, 2019 — Then South Korean President Moon Jae In visits Japan to participate in the Group of 20 summits in Osaka but holds no bilateral talks with then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
July 4 — Japan tightens the control of exports to South Korea of three materials used for the production of semiconductors and display screens for smartphones.
Aug. 2 — Japan decides to revoke South Korea’s preferential status as a trade partner for the purchase of goods that can be diverted for military use.
Aug. 22 — South Korea says it has decided to scrap the General Security of Military Information Agreement, an intelligence-sharing pact called GSOMIA, with Japan. The decision is retracted later.
Sept. 27, 2021 — A South Korean district court orders the sale of local assets seized from Mitsubishi Heavy after the company refused to pay damages as ordered. A similar decision on Nippon Steel assets comes on Dec. 30.
Oct. 4 — Fumio Kishida becomes Japanese prime minister, replacing Yoshihide Suga, Abe’s successor.
May 10, 2022 — Yoon Suk Yeol becomes South Korean president, replacing Moon Jae In.
Nov. 13 — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Yoon meet in Cambodia, the first official summit between the two countries since December 2019, agreeing to work for an “early settlement” of the wartime labor issue.
Jan. 12, 2023 — South Korea, during a public hearing, unveils a plan centered on a government-backed foundation paying equivalent money to plaintiffs as the most likely solution.
March 6 — South Korea announces it will implement the solution to the wartime labor dispute.
March 16 — Yoon visits Japan for talks with Kishida.
