The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    Korean Lunar New Year vs. Chinese Lunar New Year

  • 3

    Garbage collector mistakes sex doll for corpse

  • 5

    Cute canine film 'My Heart Puppy' reunites Yoo Yeon-seok, Cha Tae-hyun

  • 7

    Hybe acquires 56.1 percent stake in AI sound startup Supertone

  • 9

    Netflix announces password sharing crackdown in Korea

  • 11

    Korea seeks measures to better protect foreign workers

  • 13

    South Korea, US to expand size and content of joint military drills

  • 15

    Popular travel YouTuber recalls painful memories of being bullied at school

  • 17

    Samsung unveils new Galaxy S23 smartphone

  • 19

    Holy Moly concert series brings 4 punk bands to Haebangchon

  • 2

    INTERVIEWProduction company AStory expects great success with 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' franchise

  • 4

    TWICE becomes first K-pop group to win Billboard Women in Music award

  • 6

    Free subway rides for elderly emerge as headache for Seoul mayor

  • 8

    Korea ranks 31st in international corruption perception index in 2022

  • 10

    US bill introduced to honor Korean War hero

  • 12

    Retailers return to Myeong-dong as more foreign tourists visit

  • 14

    Samsung refuses to cut chip output despite plunging profits

  • 16

    Cyber University of Korea offers online Korean language programs for foreigners

  • 18

    4 South Korean activists arrested for executing orders from Pyongyang

  • 20

    Is non-consensual sex not rape?

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
Thu, February 2, 2023 | 20:01
Editorial
First step toward thaw
Posted : 2022-09-22 17:08
Updated : 2022-09-22 20:21
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
Seoul, Tokyo should untie Gordian knot

President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida have agreed on the need to mend Seoul-Tokyo ties soured by a dispute over wartime forced labor. The agreement came during their 30-minute one-on-one meeting Wednesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

The meeting, which fell short of a summit, was described as "informal talks" by Yoon's office. It was held after both sides engaged in a war of nerves over whether to hold such a gathering between Yoon and Kishida. Tokyo had reportedly expressed displeasure at Seoul's announcement of the meeting before the two countries reached a final agreement on it.

Nevertheless, it is meaningful that the leaders met for the first time since December 2019 when then President Moon Jae-in and his counterpart Shinzo Abe had talks during a trilateral summit between South Korea, Japan and China. Yet, Yoon and Kishida still found it difficult to resolve thorny issues regarding the fraught history shared by the two countries.

No one expected Yoon and Kishida to cut the diplomatic Gordian knot once and for all during their brief meeting. As a presidential official noted, the two countries have just taken the first step toward restoring ties and working together to cope with issues of mutual concern. In this sense, the meeting itself could raise hopes that Seoul and Tokyo will make sincere efforts to narrow their differences and move forward toward a better future.

If both countries resolve their differences over the issue concerning the compensation for surviving Korean victims of forced labor, they can step up cooperation in various fields such as security, the economy, technology and climate change. It is worth noting that Yoon and Kishida shared concerns about North Korea's nuclear program and its preparation for a seventh nuclear test.

The two countries must collaborate to thwart North Korean military threats. Trilateral cooperation with the U.S. is also crucial to ensure peace and stability in Northeast Asia. Seoul and Tokyo can also join hands to deal with the escalating great power competition between the U.S. and China as well as create stable supply chains for strategic goods such as semiconductors and electric vehicle batteries.

In order to forge a future-oriented partnership, Seoul and Tokyo should spare no efforts to find a viable solution to the compensation issue. Yoon is taking a more flexible attitude toward the matter than his predecessor Moon Jae-in, who had taken a hardline stance on the issue against Japan. Now it is the time for Tokyo to change its uncompromising position that Seoul should revoke its top court's ruling, which states that Japanese firms should pay compensation to the forced labor victims.

What's regrettable is that Japan is still sticking to its argument that all reparation claims stemming from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula were settled under the 1965 basic treaty that normalized relations between the two countries. The Japanese foreign ministry's press announcement on the Yoon-Kishida meeting implied that nothing has changed on the compensation issue. This is casting a dark cloud over the prospect of settling the issue and looking to the future. We urge Japan to face up to its history squarely and reflect on its wartime atrocities, including sex slavery by its troops.




 
Top 10 Stories
1Garbage collector mistakes sex doll for corpse Garbage collector mistakes sex doll for corpse
2Free subway rides for elderly emerge as headache for Seoul mayor Free subway rides for elderly emerge as headache for Seoul mayor
3Korea seeks measures to better protect foreign workers Korea seeks measures to better protect foreign workers
4Retailers return to Myeong-dong as more foreign tourists visit Retailers return to Myeong-dong as more foreign tourists visit
5Samsung unveils new Galaxy S23 smartphone Samsung unveils new Galaxy S23 smartphone
64 South Korean activists arrested for executing orders from Pyongyang 4 South Korean activists arrested for executing orders from Pyongyang
7Is non-consensual sex not rape? Is non-consensual sex not rape?
8President pledges support for Korean chipmakers to overcome crisis President pledges support for Korean chipmakers to overcome crisis
9Income gap widening among workers Income gap widening among workers
10Seoul city council under fire for sexual conduct guidelines for teachers Seoul city council under fire for sexual conduct guidelines for teachers
Top 5 Entertainment News
1[INTERVIEW] Production company AStory expects great success with 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' franchise INTERVIEWProduction company AStory expects great success with 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' franchise
2TWICE becomes first K-pop group to win Billboard Women in Music award TWICE becomes first K-pop group to win Billboard Women in Music award
3Cute canine film 'My Heart Puppy' reunites Yoo Yeon-seok, Cha Tae-hyun Cute canine film 'My Heart Puppy' reunites Yoo Yeon-seok, Cha Tae-hyun
4AmorePacific Museum of Art brings Joseon-era folding screens to center stage AmorePacific Museum of Art brings Joseon-era folding screens to center stage
5$120,000 banana, praying Hitler: Infamous art world prankster Maurizio Cattelan's first Seoul outing $120,000 banana, praying Hitler: Infamous art world prankster Maurizio Cattelan's first Seoul outing
DARKROOM
  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

  • World Cup 2022 France vs Morocco

    World Cup 2022 France vs Morocco

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group