Trump says he is willing to help resolve Korea-Japan dispute
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with reporters on the South Lawn of the White House before departing, July 19, 2019, in Washington DC. AP
U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that he is willing, if needed, to help resolve escalating tensions between South Korea and Japan.
Speaking to the White House press corps in the Oval Office to mark the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing mission, Trump said President Moon Jae-in had asked him if he could mediate.
"It's like a full-time job getting involved between Japan and South Korea," Trump said, although adding he will be there if the two countries need him. The president did not elaborate on what kind of request Moon made, and pointed out he would prefer that Seoul and Tokyo resolve the trade dispute by themselves.
Trump's remarks on the South Korea-Japan confrontation are his first comments on the matter and may signal a move by Washington to try to broker an understanding, and prevent the spat from moving beyond semiconductors and displays into the security realm.
Diplomatic insiders have hinted that the U.S. from the very outset emphasized the need for South Korea and Japan to try to work out their differences.
The latest row began in 2018, when South Korea's Supreme Court ordered Japanese firms to pay compensation to Koreans forced to work for them during Japan's colonial occupation of the peninsula. Tokyo strongly protested the rulings, arguing that all reparation issues were settled under a 1965 treaty the two countries signed to normalize diplomatic relations.
In retaliation, Tokyo slapped export restrictions resource materials used by South Korean semiconductor manufacturers early this month, and warned that it could take additional retaliatory measures, such as removing South Korea from a so-called whitelist of countries given preferential customs treatment in trade procedures. The curbing of exports of the critical materials used to make chips and panel displays could impact the South Korean economy and even the global market.
Seoul has rebutted Japan's accusation that it violated international law by failing to meet what it called an arbitrary deadline set by Tokyo for discussions on the forced labor compensation issue. It has repeatedly urged the neighboring country to take steps to handle the situation in a diplomatic manner, and recently warned that escalating tensions could jeopardize security cooperation between the two countries that have worked closely to denuclearize North Korea. (Yonhap)