Will Japan-South Korea talks yield improved ties as North’s provocations drive them closer?

The nations should be ‘natural allies’ with their shared challenges in Northeast Asia, and potential mutual benefits in trade, cultural and education, analysts say

But historical issues hold back the relationship, such as recognition of wartime comfort women and forced labour in Japanese corporations 1910-1945

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South Korea’s First Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun-dong, left, Japanese Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeo Mori and US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman prior to their trilateral meeting in Tokyo. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 8:30am, 27 Oct 2022Updated: 8:57am, 27 Oct 2022

Talks between senior Japanese and South Korean foreign ministry officials in Tokyo are a positive indication that the frequently rocky bilateral relationship is improving, say analysts, although they point out that significant hurdles still need to be overcome.

Given that the two nations should be “natural allies” as they face a number of shared challenges in Northeast Asia, the experts add that Tokyo and Seoul should be making every effort to rebuild a relationship that can also be mutually beneficial in trade, cultural and educational exchanges and other areas.

By far the most important area in which cooperation would be mutually beneficial is regional security, with the United States also very keen to see its two key Asian allies working more closely together.

South Korea’s first vice-foreign minister Cho Hyun-dong was in Tokyo for three-way talks with Japanese vice-foreign minister Takeo Mori and US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman. North Korea was due to be top of the agenda, with Pyongyang expected to carry out another underground nuclear test in the coming days and increasingly frequent provocations aimed at the South.

The situation in Ukraine and Chinese President Xi Jinping’s third term are also likely to be discussed.

It is the subsequent talks between Japanese and South Korean diplomats that are arguably the most critical element of the meetings, and are being closely watched for whether progress is being made in rebuilding the relationship.

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