S. Korean, Japanese leaders eager to engage in "Active Diplomacy", reviving bilateral ties with key measures
윤 대통령-기시다 “한-일관계 새 출발” 셔틀외교 12년 만에 재개
Good Evening. It's 9:00 PM here in South Korea. Thank you for joining us on Arirang News.
We begin with a summit between the leaders of South Korea and Japan that took place in Tokyo today.
President Yoon Suk Yeol sat down with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to discuss how to mend fences between the two governments, and work towards a future-oriented relationship.
They held a joint press conference, declaring a new chapter in bilateral relations.
We connect with our top office correspondent Oh Soo-young who is traveling with the President.
Hi Sooyoung, let's begin with some of the biggest outcomes from the meeting.
Hi Jiyoung, yes, President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida announced important measures to overcome some of the biggest sticking points that have marred bilateral relations.
Starting with trade, President Yoon announced Japan has ended its export curbs of semiconductor materials to South Korea, as of today.
Seoul has also halted its dispute resolution process at the World Trade Organization over Japan's export measures.
President Yoon said the two sides would continue discussions to reinstate each other as trusted trade partners in their respective whitelists.
The aim of this summit was to normalize relations that fell to a critical low in 2019, during which Japan slapped export restrictions on semiconductor materials to South Korea.
This was due to unresolved disputes and sentiments over historical issues, primarily the issue of compensating Koreans who were subjected to forced labor by Japanese firms during World War Two.
Now, the Yoon government announced a plan earlier this month to compensate the victims through private funding without demanding reparations from Japanese firms --this was hailed as a breakthrough move by Tokyo and Washington amid efforts to ramp up trilateral cooperation in regional security --especially as they address growing threats from North Korea.
Since then, the momentum for rapprochement has been building at incredible speed, culminating in this breakthrough summit today.
Another major announcement was the South Korean president declaring that the intel-sharing pact between Seoul and Tokyo is now fully functioning.
The General Security of Military Information Agreement --or GSOMIA, for short, enables the exchange of sensitive information such as intelligence on North Korea's missiles. The agreement was almost scrapped back in 2019 at the height of the Seoul-Tokyo tensions.
Moving forward, the two leaders said they will launch a bilateral Economic Security Dialogue.
Well, there wasn't a joint statement by the two leaders but it seems they're eager to continue talking and improving their ties.
That's right. There might not have been a joint statement after the summit, but it's clear Yoon and Kishida are on the same page about beginning a new chapter of relations.
"South Korea and Japan are closest neighbors and partners who share the universal values of freedom, human rights, and the rule of law, and pursue common interests in security, economy, and global issues."
Japan has also described South Korea as an important neighbour in recent weeks, amid efforts to ramp up trilateral cooperation with the United States, on regional and economic security.
There has been some controversy about Seoul's plan to compensate victims of Japan's forced labor, but the leaders have made it clear they are focusing on building trust and looking to the future, in the spirit of the 1998 declaration made by former President Kim Dae-jung and Prime MInister Keizo Obuchi.
Yoon and Kishida both expressed their willingness to engage in "active diplomacy" and meet whenever necessary, without being constrained by formalities.
On that note, the two leaders have been enjoying some personal time together, with a two-part dinner, according to rumors?
There's been quite a bit of speculation about the leaders' dinner engagement following the summit.
Japanese media reported that there would be a two-part dinner with a Japanese hot pot and an omelet dish Yoon is known to be partial to.
Seoul's top office says the dinner engagement was arranged, indeed, to provide the time and space for the leaders to build trust on a personal level.
We'll have to wait and see whether the Japanese Prime Minister will invite South Korea to the G7 meeting in May in Hiroshima...
#SouthKorea #Japan #윤석열 #후미오기시다 #Arirang_News
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2023-03-16, 21:00 (KST)
