Korea eyes to expand ties with Japan on chips, battery, climate change
Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho speaks during a meeting between the finance ministers of Korea and Japan at the 56th Annual Meetings of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Songdo Convention Center, Incheon, May 2. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
Korea wishes to expand ties with Japan in various areas, including chips and batteries, as well as global issues, such as climate change, the finance minister said Tuesday, as the two countries gear up to normalize economic ties after several years of trade tensions.
"Japan and Korea share common values, such as freedom and human rights," Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said ahead of his bilateral meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Shunichi Suzuki, on the sidelines of the 56th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Incheon, 36 kilometers west of Seoul.
"(As the two countries) take the free trade and market system as the key of their economic management, there are many areas in which the two governments and the private sectors join forces."
The finance minister said it is significant that Korea and Japan have resumed shuttle diplomacy, or regular visits to each other's countries by their leaders. Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was the first Korean president in 12 years to make a bilateral visit to Japan in March.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will make a two-day visit to Korea next week, according to Japanese media reports.
Choo added Korea and Japan should bolster partnerships in areas that can create shared interests, such as industries including chips and batteries, along with emerging areas, including space and biotechnology.
The two countries should also expand ties to address issues such as low births and climate change, he added.
Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho, left, shakes hands with his Japanese counterpart, Shunichi Suzuki, on the sidelines of the 56th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank in Incheon, May 2. Yonhap
Suzuki echoed the view, noting he wishes to expand bilateral financial ties and contribute to the development of the two countries' relationships.
"Korea and Japan are important neighbors that need to cooperate to address various tasks of the global economy, as well as the regional and international society," Suzuki said ahead of the meeting.
Suzuki also pointed out it is Tokyo's stance that North Korea's development of nuclear weapons, as well as Russia's invasion of Ukraine, cannot be tolerated, noting the two countries should also cooperate in such areas.
Korea and Japan recently have been making efforts to revitalize their bilateral exchanges, after the two countries agreed to reinstate each other to their respective "white list" of trusted trading partners.
In 2019, Korea took Japan off its white list following Tokyo's removal of Seoul from its own list in apparent retaliation against the Korean Supreme Court rulings the previous year that ordered two Japanese companies to pay compensation to Korean forced labor victims during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
In yet another sign of a slow thaw in bilateral ties, Japan invited Korea to take part in the upcoming G-7 ministerial meeting that will kick off in Tokyo on May 11.
It marked Korea's first invitation to the G-7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' Meeting since 2008. (Yonhap)