New York: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met South Korean President Yoon Suk-Yeol in New York on Thursday. Sources said that both leaders agreed to strengthen bilateral relations and cooperation during the meeting. This is the first time since 2019 that the heads of state of these two countries have met each other in person. South Korean officials reacted to the visit, saying they have taken the first step towards concrete results.
During the Second World War, the atrocities committed by the then-Japanese regime on the Korean people and the stand adopted by the subsequent Japanese regimes in this regard have consistently been a key issue in the relations between both countries. In 2018, a South Korean court ordered two Japanese companies to pay huge compensation for ‘Forced Labour’. After that, the former President of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, revoked the recognition of an organization established with Japan’s financial support.
Moreover, Japan reacted strongly to it. Japan has imposed restrictions on exports to South Korea. Korea had also taken the step of trade boycott against Japan. This created tremendous tension in the relations between the two countries. Although the two countries share similar positions on issues like China, North Korea and Taiwan, the tension in bilateral relations continues. The United States expressed its concern over this tension in solid terms. The United States, which was trying to ally with Pacific countries against China, also attempted to mediate between these two countries.
In 2019, the then Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe and the former President of Korea Moon Jae-in met in China. However, tension remained as no concrete discussion on improving bilateral relations existed. Against this background, the meeting of the leaders of both countries in the United States becomes noteworthy. The media has claimed that the initiative taken by the new head of state of South Korea is the reason for this.
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