Yoon, Kishida to discuss deeper cooperation during visit

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will hold talks on expanding cooperation between the two countries in security, technology and cultural exchanges at their meeting during the latter's visit to Seoul next week.

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida raise glasses of beer during a meal at an omurice restaurant in Ginza, Tokyo on March 16. [YONHAP]

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will hold talks on expanding cooperation between the two countries in security, technology and cultural exchanges at their upcoming meeting during the latter's visit to Seoul early next week, a presidential spokesman said Thursday.

The spokesman Lee Do-woon said the Japanese prime minister’s working visit to Korea from Sunday to Monday also signals the resumption of “shuttle diplomacy” of the two countries' leaders visiting each other.

In a Wednesday meeting with Cho Tae-yong, director of Seoul’s National Security Office, Japanese counterpart Takeo Akiba said that Kishida praised Yoon’s “courageous decision” to take the lead in improving bilateral relations, and that the Japanese prime minister decided to undertake the visit to Seoul to repay the Korean president’s efforts, according to a press release from the presidential office.

Kishida’s two-day visit to Korea will be closely watched to see if it will produce a joint statement specifying the direction of future bilateral ties and cooperation, even though a presidential official on Thursday declined to specify if such a document was in the works.

Korean-Japanese relations in recent years have been strained by disputes stemming from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial occupation of the peninsula. The last visit by a Japanese prime minister to Korea was in 2011.

In late 2018, the Korean Supreme Court ordered Japanese companies to individually compensate the victims of forced labor during World War II. In a move widely seen as retaliation for the forced labor rulings, Japan imposed export restrictions on three key materials essential to Korea's semiconductor and display production in 2019. Tokyo also removed Korea from its so-called “white list” of trusted trading partners, a move returned by Seoul.

In March, the Yoon government announced a plan to compensate victims of Japan's wartime forced labor through a Korea-backed public foundation, without set contributions from Japanese companies, a move protested by some victims and civic groups.

Yoon then undertook a bilateral visit to Tokyo, during which the South Korean president said that it is in both countries' national interests to normalize relations to better respond to security issues, including North Korea.

During Kishida's visit, the Korean president, first lady Kim Keon-hee, the Japanese prime minister and his wife Yuko Kishida will also attend a dinner that is expected to feature charcoal-grilled Korean beef and cheongju, a type of clear Korean rice wine that resembles Japanese sake.

The Japanese prime minister is said to be a sake enthusiast.

In addition to discussing preparations for the meeting between Yoon and Kishida, Cho and Akiba agreed to continue to foster bilateral cooperation in all sectors, including security and economy, the presidential office said in a press release.

The two national security advisors also agreed that “North Korea’s escalating nuclear and missile threats pose a grave threat to the international community, and that Korea, South Korea, and Japan should cooperate more closely in the process of responding to North Korea, including strong and effective sanctions and thorough implementation of Security Council resolutions,” according to the press release.

The day after his meeting with Yoon, Kishida is expected to meet the leader of six Korean business associations to discuss ways to bolster economic exchanges between Korea and Japan, according to industry sources.

Business leaders in attendance at the Monday meeting will likely include SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, who heads the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as well Samyang Holdings Chairman Kim Yoon, who chairs the Korea-Japan Economic Association, sources said.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]