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| Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono head to their seats after shaking hands ahead of a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday. Yonhap |
US role eyed to mediate deepening Korea-Japan feud
By Do Je-hae
The meeting Thursday between the top diplomats of Korea and Japan in Bangkok failed to halt or delay Tokyo's additional trade sanctions on Korea expected to be announced Friday.
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha held a meeting with her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono, on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum, with the aim of finding common ground to resolve the deepening trade row between the neighboring countries.
For Korea, the immediate aim of the meeting was to get Japan to halt its planned removal of Seoul from its "whitelist" of countries receiving preferential treatment in trade.
"We made a clear request to halt the whitelist action," Kang told reporters after the talks with Kono. "We also made it clear there would be grave consequences if the move is carried out."
The foreign ministers' meeting is their first since July 4 when Japan slapped restrictions on the export of three resource materials to Korean companies critical for the manufacture of semiconductors and screens.
Following the breakdown of the foreign ministers' meeting, bilateral tension is expected to reach new levels as Tokyo is set to go ahead with the additional export restrictions despite Korea's stern warnings.
The meeting ended without any result partially due to the stark differences over Korean Supreme Court rulings that ordered Japanese firms to compensate Koreans forced to work for them during World War II. Japan argues that this matter was dealt with in the 1965 treaty that established diplomatic ties between the two countries, and the rulings were therefore a breach of international treaty laws.
The economic actions taken by Japan since are largely seen here as retaliation to the court's rulings, although Tokyo insists they were for security reasons.
President Moon Jae-in held a meeting from 10:30 a.m. through 12:45 p.m. with relevant ministers the same day to discuss the trade dispute.
"During the meeting, the President checked the situation regarding Japan's export curbs," presidential spokeswoman Ko Min-jung wrote in a text message to reporters.
The President is expected to issue a message if Japan's Cabinet approves the removal of Korea from the whitelist, the presidential office said.
With Cheong Wa Dae still looking for a diplomatic resolution after the breakdown of the Kang-Kono meeting, some observers are looking to the U.S. to see if Washington will mediate in the deepening row.
"With regard to Japan's trade restrictions, we have reiterated our position to resolve them diplomatically," a presidential aide said at a briefing after the foreign ministers' meeting. "We will positively consider the various measures, whether in the form of mediation or a meeting."
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will meet with his counterparts from Korea and Japan today. "If we can help them find a good place for each of their two countries, we certainly find that important to the United States, indeed, as well as to each of those two countries," Pompeo said before embarking on his trip to Bangkok. The trilateral meeting comes after a scheduled Pompeo-Kang meeting.
The presidential office said it could not confirm some Japanese media reports of a U.S. mediation plan that proposes Japan retain Korea on the whitelist while urging Korea to make concessions on the Supreme Court ruling.
If Japan goes through with the whitelist move, Seoul signaled that it will take measures that could impact security cooperation between the two countries, such as repealing the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) which expires later this month.
"If the Cabinet decision is announced, we will have no choice but to carry out the necessary corresponding measures," Kang said. "Since Tokyo cited security reasons for the restrictions, we explained that we will also have to consider the Korea-Japan security framework and other factors."
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