Park hints at summit with Abe next month
President Park Geun-hye gives a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a U.S. think tank, in Washington, Friday, the third day of her four-day visit to the United States. / Yonhap
By Kang Seung-woo
WASHINGTON ― President Park Geun-hye said she is open to a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in early November when the leaders of Korea and Japan and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang will gather in Seoul for talks.
“The trilateral meeting allows us to hold in-depth talks not only with China but also with Japan,” Park said during a question-and-answer session after her speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Friday (KST).
“I do feel that I can have a bilateral meeting with Abe.”
It is the first time that Park has hinted at the possibility of meeting Abe while there is yet no breakthrough on the issue of primarily Korean “comfort women” forced to provide sex for Japanese soldiers during World War II.
Park’s comment raised speculation that the Korean government has softened its stance on the thorny issue that has strained Seoul-Tokyo ties.
Due to his attempts to deny Japan’s wartime actions, Park has refused to sit down with Abe and urged him to make an apology about the issue.
She also said that the trilateral summit will provide an opportunity for Korea and Japan to clear obstacles hindering closer bilateral ties and thus they can hold sincere discussions on the way forward.
Korea made efforts to host the event in late October or early November after Park proposed the three-way meeting last year. The last meeting took place in 2012.
Park said the sex-slavery issue should be urgently resolved because most of the women are now nearly in their 90s, with only 47 surviving.
“Literally, we really don’t have much time to make sure that we can bring closure to their pent-up agony,” she said.
“Once we are able to make progress on the issue, I think it is fair to say that the meeting will lead to progress on other issues and can be characterized as a meaningful meeting.”
Earlier in the day, the Japan Times reported that Korea and Japan are in the final stage of talks on arranging a meeting of their leaders on Nov. 1 in Seoul on the sidelines of the trilateral meeting.
In response, Cheong Wa Dae denied it, saying that they are still in negotiations over the schedule.
Meanwhile, along with the possible summit between Korea and Japan, there is likely to be bilateral talks between Seoul and Beijing that will feature Park and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang.
However, Park’s office said that nothing has been fixed yet.