Kang Seung-woo is the Business Desk editor at The Korea Times. Prior to this position, he covered politics, national affairs, finance and sports.
Yoon-Kishida summit likely in Spain
President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida / AFP-Yonhap
By Kang Seung-woo
By Kang Seung-woo
Speculation is rising of a long-awaited Korea-Japan summit on the sidelines of the NATO leaders' meeting scheduled to take place in Spain later this month as both President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are considering attending the June 29-30 meeting.
The presidential office is said to have sent an advance team, comprised of officials from the foreign ministry as well as its own staff, to the host country, while Japan's Kyodo News reported, Saturday, that Japanese officials were planning to travel to the Spanish capital.
Since before his inauguration, May 10, Yoon has called for a future-oriented approach to restoring bilateral ties between Seoul and Tokyo, overshadowed for years by historical and territorial disputes, believing that an improved relationship would help trilateral cooperation that also includes the United States to effectively deal with North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats.
In that respect, Yoon dispatched a policy consultation delegation to Japan, the second of its kind following the U.S., before taking office and also tried to invite Kishida to his inauguration ceremony for a South Korea-Japan summit that last took place in December 2019. But Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi attended instead.
In addition, Yoon held a phone conversation with Kishida two days after his election, saying he hopes the two sides will work together to promote friendly cooperation between their countries.
According to the Kyodo report, based on government sources, the Yoon administration had sounded out the Japanese side about the first summit between the two leaders, but the presidential office has yet to confirm Yoon's participation in the upcoming NATO summit.
If Yoon travels to Spain, it would be his first overseas trip as South Korean president.
The NATO summit could also set the stage for a summit trilaterally with U.S. President Joe Biden, with whom Yoon sat down in Seoul, May 21.