Seoul reaching out to Tokyo

National Intelligence Service chief Park Jie-won is seen during a session of the National Assembly at the NIS headquarters, Nov. 3. Yonhap

By Do Je-hae

National Intelligence Service (NIS) chief Park Jie-won headed for Tokyo, Sunday, according to the spy agency, becoming the first high-level Korean official to visit Japan since the change of leaders in the neighboring country in September.

Park is expected to meet with members of Japan's power elite, including Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party who played a key role in the succession of power to Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga from Shinzo Abe; and Hiroaki Takizawa, the director of the Cabinet Intelligence Committee.

The visit is seen as part of Seoul's latest efforts to lower the temperature between the two countries amid a lingering historical dispute over the Korean Supreme Court's October 2018 ruling on compensation for surviving South Korean victims of wartime forced labor by Japanese companies during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea. Park also visited Tokyo in August 2019 as a special envoy of then-National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang at the height of the Korea-Japan trade row.

Several members of the Korea-Japan Parliamentarians' Union, including chairman of the Korean side Rep. Kim Jin-pyo of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, will also be in Japan from Nov. 12 to 14.

The need for bilateral talks has been highlighted due to the heightened tension caused by Suga's remarks about boycotting the planned Korea-Japan-China meeting in Seoul later this year unless Korea offers a solution to the forced labor issue. The remarks have prompted concerns in the diplomatic community here about Suga's continuation of the rigid position toward Seoul of his predecessor Abe.

It remains to be seen whether these visits will result in a breakthrough in bilateral relations and set the right mood for the leaders of the two countries to get together soon.

Some say these visits from the Korean side may not be able to turn things around in the near future. "New developments, including the visit, will not make an impression in Japan nor change the bilateral dynamic," Brad Glosserman, senior adviser of the Pacific Forum, told The Korea Times. "There are other issues which continue to inflame feelings here and the refusal of the Seoul government to intervene confirms Japan's mistrust. The change of administration in Tokyo does not change that foundation."

Other analysts say it is necessary to persuade Japan to take a more "constructive" approach through continued dialogue.

"I think that high-level visits are necessary to break the current impasse in Korea-Japan relations," Ramon Pacheco Pardo, associate professor in International Relations at the Department of European and International Studies of King's College London, told The Korea Times. "Suga adopted a harsh approach toward relations with Korea upon taking office, which is counterproductive because he had been extended an olive branch by the South Korean government upon his selection as Japanese leader. In my view, threatening to boycott regional initiatives such as the Korea-China-Japan dialogue due to an unrelated issue isn't a statesmanlike choice. Thus, it makes sense for Seoul to show that it wants cooperation with Japan on as many matters as possible, and to extend an olive branch with high-level visits to persuade Tokyo to take a more constructive approach."

Some experts underlined that working toward a resolution of the forced labor compensation issue ― the biggest impediment in bilateral relations at the moment ― requires efforts from both sides. "Suga should recognize that reconciliation is an ongoing process requiring emotional commitment, it is not something final and irreversible that can be won with legalese," Leif-Eric Easley, associate professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, told The Korea Times. "Moon should recognize that South Korea is losing international credibility for moving the goalposts and breaking agreements. It is his government's responsibility to close the gap between domestic court rulings and the 1965 treaty."

Pardo said, "Rebuilding bilateral trust between the leaders of Korea and Japan will take time. Above all, no Korean president can interfere in a court's decision. This seems to be misunderstood by some Japanese leaders. So I think that Seoul will need to keep reiterating this point to Tokyo. In addition, I think that it would make sense for Prime Minister Suga to accept President Moon Jae-in's offer to discuss the slave labor issue at the highest level."

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