Yi Whan-woo is a Korea Times journalist primarily covering finance. He writes in-depth articles on macroeconomy and financial markets and previously covered sports, politics, diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs, among others. Feel free to contact him at yistory@koreatimes.co.kr.
Seoul-Tokyo to hold strategic dialogue
By Yi Whan-woo
South Korea and Japan plan to hold a strategic dialogue between their vice foreign ministers, the government said Tuesday.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said a specific date is yet to be confirmed.
However it added that its 1st Vice Minister Cho Tae-yong is likely to visit Tokyo to meet his Japanese counterpart Akitaka Saiki and discuss a wide range of bilateral issues.
This will be the first strategic dialogue between the two neighboring nations since President Park Geun-hye took office in February 2013.
The meeting will take place amid souring Seoul-Tokyo ties in the wake of a series of disputes between the two countries over historical issues. These vary from Japan’s territorial claim over South Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo to the forced sexual slavery of Korean women during the Japanese colonial rule.
The two sides launched a bilateral strategic dialogue in 2005 with the aim of discussing long-term security and bilateral issues every year.
The latest dialogue was held in January last year under the Lee Myung-bak administration.
Next year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Seoul and Tokyo since South Korea’s liberation from the Japanese colonial rule in 1945.
In her Liberation Day speech on Aug. 15, President Park urged Japan to face history honestly and take forward-looking measures to address the grievances of South Korean women who were forced to work as prostitutes for Japanese soldiers during World War II.
Park also proposed that South Korea, Japan, and China to set up a three-nation nuclear safety body. She said that such a body would help to prevent confrontations in Northeast Asia by building trust within the region.
Seoul and Tokyo plan to hold their fourth round of high-level talks in September to discuss Japan’s wartime atrocities.
On July 23, Director General Lee Sang-deok for Northeast Asian affairs at the foreign ministry met his Japanese counterpart Junichi Ihara in Seoul in a third round of talks. But they failed to reach an agreement over a long-standing impasse in relations between the two neighboring countries.
Seoul and Tokyo held the first two meetings in April and May following an agreement to meet every month.
The meetings were suspended in June in the wake of Tokyo’s announcement that Japan's landmark apology in 1993 for the wartime sex slavery of Korean women was the result of a political compromise between the two countries.