Park Jin “I will try my best with sincerity”… Hayashi “Welcome to the president’s will to improve relations”
“Empathy for the need to improve Korea-Japan relations”… Pay attention to whether it will lead to a 55-minute dialogue or summit
While the possibility of holding a Korea-Japan summit during the UN General Assembly was drawing attention, the heads of foreign affairs of the two countries met and discussed the issue of compensation for victims of forced labor during the Japanese colonial period.
Foreign Minister Park Jin had a 55-minute meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi at a hotel in Manhattan, New York, USA on the followingnoon of the 19th (local time).
After the meeting held on the day that South Korea and Japan were coordinating the summit between President Yoon Seok-yeol and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Minister Park said to reporters that “there were many good stories.”
“The two sides decided to make sincere efforts to improve relations between Korea and Japan,” he said.
The meeting was held in a friendly atmosphere, and it is reported that there was a deep exchange of opinions on the solution of the issue of compensation for forced labor, which is considered the biggest issue.
Minister Park summarized the contents discussed at the previous four public-private council meetings with the participation of the Korean government and domestic experts and explained to Foreign Minister Hayashi Hayashi.
According to the public-private council, ‘it is not advisable to use the Korean government budget to make subrogation payments (repayment by a third party) or to take over the debts of the Japanese defendant company’, ‘Use the foundation to solve the problem, but Korean and Japanese companies It is known that opinions have gathered in the direction that it would be better to use this money as a financial resource.
In addition, the position of the victims of forced labor was also conveyed to the Japanese side.
A diplomatic official said, “When introducing the case in which Minister Park directly listened to the victims’ voices, he conveyed the opinions of various domestic circles to Japan in detail and called for a sincere response.”
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Japanese side listened to this and exchanged opinions with the South Korean side in depth.
A diplomatic official said, “We once once more agreed to continue dialogue and consultations between the diplomatic authorities of the two countries on various occasions.”
“The two ministers confirmed their sympathy for the need for prompt restoration, restoration, and improvement of Korea-Japan relations,” he added.
The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained in a press release that Minister Park explained South Korea’s position on the issue of compensation for victims of forced labor during the meeting, and in a press release, Foreign Minister Hayashi “delivered a consistent position from the Japanese side”.
“The two foreign ministers, while appreciating the constructive dialogue that is taking place between the diplomatic authorities, decided to continue the consultations between the two countries towards an early resolution of the issue in order to return the Japan-Korea relationship to a healthy one,” it added.
At the meeting, Foreign Minister Hayashi said he welcomed President Yun’s Liberation Day congratulatory speech and a press conference on the 100th day of his inauguration, as he expressed his will to improve relations between Korea and Japan.
A diplomatic official said, “Japan also said that it wants to promote cooperation between government authorities because it agrees with the need to improve relations between Korea and Japan.”
In addition to the issue of compensation for forced labor, plans for establishing future-oriented partnerships such as cooperation on the North Korean nuclear issue, security cooperation between the two countries, and revitalization of people-to-people exchanges between the two countries were also discussed at the meeting.
Both sides reported that the two Ministers agreed on the importance of cooperation and linkage between South Korea and Japan, South Korea, the US, and Japan in relation to the enactment of North Korea’s nuclear force policy.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs introduced the contents of the meeting in a press release that the two ministers shared the view to continuously strengthen cooperation between Korea and Japan and South Korea, the US and Japan in consideration of the rapidly changing international situation and the severe situation on the Korean Peninsula.
At the meeting, Foreign Minister Hayashi requested South Korea’s support for resolving the North Korean abduction issue, and Minister Park reportedly expressed his support for Japan’s position.
Regarding the resumption of visa-free entry between Korea and Japan, the situation of the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) should be taken into account, but the two sides agreed that people-to-people exchanges should be actively carried out.
A diplomatic official declined to comment on whether the South Korea-Japan summit would take place at the UN General Assembly as an opportunity, saying, “We cannot confirm at this time.”
A Japanese government official responded to a question by Yonhap News regarding whether there had been any talk regarding the Korea-Japan summit, saying that ‘there was no special talk regarding it’.
However, the first deputy director of the National Security Office, Kim Tae-hyo, explained earlier that ‘they agreed to hold the Korea-Japan summit at the UN General Assembly and are adjusting the time’, and since then, a high-ranking official in the presidential office expressed the perception that ‘there is no change in the situation’. There are speculations that the two leaders will meet and talk.
/yunhap news