South Korea, Japan seek to deepen cooperation for ‘world peace’ amid North Korea threat
- President Yoon Suk-yeol, welcoming Japan’s PM Fumio Kishida to landmark summit, said unresolved historical issues should not block deepening ties
- Discussions included threat from Pyongyang and Japan’s planned release of treated radioactive water from crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Sunday that he agreed with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida that the two countries will join hands to address growing security threats in Asia, including North Korea’s missile and nuclear development.
After their summit in Seoul, Yoon also said at a joint press conference that the two leaders agreed to send experts to conduct a scientific analysis before releasing treated radioactive water into the sea from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.
The men’s meeting was held in South Korea as part of the restarting of reciprocal visits.
Japan-South Korea ties reached their lowest point in decades under the left-wing administration of Yoon’s predecessor, Moon Jae-in, over wartime issues that included a labour compensation row, preventing the two countries from pursuing critical diplomatic negotiations.
But unresolved historical disputes should not block South Korea and Japan from deepening ties in the face of international crises, Yoon said on Sunday.
Kishida’s visit – the first formal talks in over a decade involving a Japanese leader in Seoul – returns the trip Yoon made to Tokyo in March, where they sought to close a chapter on the historical disputes that have dominated Japan-South Korea relations for decades.