Yoon, Kishida vow to build future-oriented ties at summit

President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida inspect an honor guard at the presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Sunday. Kishida made a two-day working visit to Korea for a summit with Yoon. Yonhap

Japanese PM pays tribute to fallen S. Korean patriots

By Nam Hyun-woo

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged to establish future-oriented bilateral relations built on mutual trust at a summit in Seoul, Sunday.

The pledge was a follow-up to their promise, made in a summit in Tokyo 52 days earlier, to make efforts to normalize chilled bilateral relations.

Kishida is the first Japanese prime minister to visit Seoul in 12 years for a bilateral summit. It also signals the resumption of reciprocal visits by the two leaders on a regular basis.

The Japanese prime minister's visit comes in response to Yoon's trip to Tokyo in March, during which the South Korean president met with Kishida to improve bilateral relations that had deteriorated to one of the lowest levels in decades after South Korea's Supreme Court in 2018 ordered two Japanese companies to compensate Korean victims of wartime forced labor.

Before Yoon's visit to Tokyo, Seoul proposed a plan to let a South Korean public foundation compensate the victims without the direct involvement of the Japanese firms ― a plan that drew domestic criticism that the president was taking a submissive stance.

The decision was hailed by the U.S., which has been ardently championing improved South Korea-Japan relations, while Kishida also said he decided to pay a visit to Seoul to respond to "Yoon's courageous decisions."

President Yoon Suk Yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, second from left, Yoon's wife Kim Keon-hee, right, and Kishida's wife Yuko Kishida, wave before entering the Korean presidential office in Yongsan District, Seoul, Sunday. Kishida made a two-day working visit to Korea for a summit with Yoon. Yonhap

PHOTOSJapanese PM in Korea

2023-05-07 13:29 | Photo News

During the Seoul summit, the leaders discussed the two countries' major interests, such as national security, advanced industries, science and technology and cultural exchanges so that bilateral relations can be directed on a future-oriented path.

In detail, they reaffirmed joint efforts to improve security cooperation to counter North Korea's escalating nuclear and missile ambitions, as well as expressing their intention to engage in close consultations for regional security.

The summit marks an important turning point in relations between the two countries, as it signifies their mutual intention to normalize ties and strengthen cooperation in addressing the various challenges facing the Indo-Pacific region.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida burns incense to pay tribute at the Seoul National Cemetery in Dongjak District, Sunday, before having a summit with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. Joint Press Corps

To showcase this intention, Kishida visited the Seoul National Cemetery in Dongjak District before the summit and paid tribute to deceased South Korean patriots and independence fighters buried there.

This is the first time a Japanese prime minister has visited the cemetery since 2011, when former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda paid his respects.

The cemetery is dedicated not only to independence fighters, but also other patriots, such as fallen veterans of the Korean War. Kishida's visit, therefore, was seen as a gesture in line with widely accepted diplomatic norms. However, it also signals that bilateral ties are back on track for normalization, because Kishida's predecessors used to pay visits to the cemetery when the two countries' relations were amicable.

As he entered the cemetery, Kishida paid his respects to South Korea's national flag and burned incense to honor the deceased. He did not leave a message in the visitors' book, but signed his name under a pre-written sentence that read, "The Visit of His Excellency Kishida Fumio Prime Minister of Japan to the Republic of Korea May 7, 2023."

Although Kishida's latest visit was aimed at improving bilateral relations between Seoul and Tokyo, it is anticipated to have repercussions across Northeast Asia, because the two countries were mending ties as part of their efforts to strengthen trilateral security cooperation involving the U.S.

This has also prompted China and Russia to strengthen their relations.

According to China's Foreign Ministry, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Goa, India, on May 4 (local time), and agreed to "strengthen communication and coordination in the Asia-Pacific, oppose a new Cold War, and maintain regional peace and stability."

With Yoon and Kishida set to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden during their upcoming trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima later this month, Beijing and Moscow are anticipated to strengthen their relationship further. There is also the potential for North Korea to become involved in order to contain the Seoul-Tokyo-Washington bloc.

After the summit, Kishida is scheduled to hold meetings, Monday, with members of a South Korea-Japan parliamentarians' association and chiefs of South Korea's six business lobby groups, including SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, who is now heading the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry.