By Chung Min-uck
Washington is not considering acting as a mediator between two of its allies, Korea and Japan, to resolve their perennial conflict over the latter's atrocities committed during its 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said in an interview with a local daily Thursday that America would not become a "mediator" surrounding a historical dispute between Seoul and Tokyo, although it fully backs dialogue and cooperation between the two on the issue.
His comments counter speculation that Washington plans to urge Japan to settle historical feuds with its neighbors during Biden's week-long trip to East Asia this week.
Biden arrived in Korea on Thursday and is scheduled to hold meetings with President Park Geun-hye and Prime Minister Chung Hong-won today.
Given the U.S. position, observers say Biden is unlikely to address Japan's historical issues publicly during his meetings in Seoul, as he did in Japan.
"Korea wants the U.S. to become a mediator but I don't think they are obligated to play that role," said a foreign ministry official. "Factoring in its close relationship with Japan, it is hard for Washington to hastily take on such a position. The U.S. is currently in need of Japan and the U.S.-Japan relationship is better than ever."
In consideration of this, observers say that the feud between Korea and Japan is unlikely to be settled any time soon.
Relations between the two neighbors are experiencing additional strain under the administration of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe without a summit held since May last year.
Abe has adopted an unrepentant ultra-conservative stance of denying, or sometimes even glorifying, the colonization of Korea and his country's past imperialism.
Bitter memories of this past aggression still run deep among Koreans.
The anger with Japan, from time to time, spills over to include Washington for its indiscrete handling of Japan's wartime responsibilities after World War II.
Critics say that the U.S. exempted Japan from responsibility for its colonial rule of Korea when it signed the San Francisco Treaty in 1951, along with the majority of the allied powers, to turn Japan into a bastion against the Communist bloc in Northeast Asia.
Seoul was not invited to sign the treaty which later undermined Korea's status when engaging with Japan asking for apologies and compensation for wartime atrocities.
Despite this, Washington has long remained a bystander when the disputes over the history issues flare up between Japan and Korea, despite its ability to exert significant influence on Tokyo.
Washington is not considering acting as a mediator between two of its allies, Korea and Japan, to resolve their perennial conflict over the latter's atrocities committed during its 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said in an interview with a local daily Thursday that America would not become a "mediator" surrounding a historical dispute between Seoul and Tokyo, although it fully backs dialogue and cooperation between the two on the issue.
His comments counter speculation that Washington plans to urge Japan to settle historical feuds with its neighbors during Biden's week-long trip to East Asia this week.
Biden arrived in Korea on Thursday and is scheduled to hold meetings with President Park Geun-hye and Prime Minister Chung Hong-won today.
Given the U.S. position, observers say Biden is unlikely to address Japan's historical issues publicly during his meetings in Seoul, as he did in Japan.
"Korea wants the U.S. to become a mediator but I don't think they are obligated to play that role," said a foreign ministry official. "Factoring in its close relationship with Japan, it is hard for Washington to hastily take on such a position. The U.S. is currently in need of Japan and the U.S.-Japan relationship is better than ever."
In consideration of this, observers say that the feud between Korea and Japan is unlikely to be settled any time soon.
Relations between the two neighbors are experiencing additional strain under the administration of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe without a summit held since May last year.
Abe has adopted an unrepentant ultra-conservative stance of denying, or sometimes even glorifying, the colonization of Korea and his country's past imperialism.
Bitter memories of this past aggression still run deep among Koreans.
The anger with Japan, from time to time, spills over to include Washington for its indiscrete handling of Japan's wartime responsibilities after World War II.
Critics say that the U.S. exempted Japan from responsibility for its colonial rule of Korea when it signed the San Francisco Treaty in 1951, along with the majority of the allied powers, to turn Japan into a bastion against the Communist bloc in Northeast Asia.
Seoul was not invited to sign the treaty which later undermined Korea's status when engaging with Japan asking for apologies and compensation for wartime atrocities.
Despite this, Washington has long remained a bystander when the disputes over the history issues flare up between Japan and Korea, despite its ability to exert significant influence on Tokyo.
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