[VIEW] How to restore relations between Korea and Japan

Japan's growing distrust of Korea has its beginnings in Korea's tilting toward China. Korea Times file

By Song Wha-sup

Last year was one of the most confrontational periods for Korea-Japan relations in recent memory.

Among the issues were ending and then re-extending the intelligence-sharing GSOMIA (General Security of Military Information Agreement), the appeal on the deal regarding enforced sexual slavery, the Korean Supreme Court's decision on forced labor, the use of the Rising Sun Flag, removal from the trade "whitelist" and others.

In addition to these, the conflict between Korea and Japan has been expanding due to concerns that Korea's foreign policy is leaning toward China, the semiconductor competition issue and the spread of anti-Korean sentiment in Japan.

The Korea-Japan relationship problems started from a history perspective but tended to spread to the fields of private exchange, economy and security. In particular, in the face of criticism that the declaration to end GSOMIA would not only affect Korea-Japan security cooperation but also Korea-U.S. security cooperation, the Korean government announced a conditional extension in November.

In the forced labor issue, Japan took its basic position that compensation could not be accepted under the 1965 Korea-Japan Basic Treaty. However, currently it is suggested that a forward-looking approach to the issue is needed.

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In this sense, a plan to establish a Memory, Reconciliation and Future Foundation to provide compensation to victims of forced labor in a 1+1+Alfa (Korean companies, Japanese companies and national donations) method is being discussed. Within Korea, some argue that the issue of conscription should be resolved by the 2+2 (Korean and Japanese governments, Korean and Japanese companies) approach instead.

In terms of the whitelist exclusion, Korea and Japan will push for restoration to the original state through a meeting of chief export control officials. The two countries have a general consensus on the need for efforts to resolve the issues surrounding export restrictions. Since mid-December, director-level meetings between Korea and Japan have been held. Japan implies that the whitelist is not an issue that can be resolved through simple dialogue with Korea, therefore, it seems a bit difficult to move on from the current status in a short time.

Japan wants action from Korea for the following reasons. One, because the policy dialogue between Korea and Japan was not held for a certain period of time that the trust between two countries is damaged; two, the catch-all regulations to limit the export of goods used for conventional weapons needs improvement, and three, Korea excluded Japan from the whitelist due to the lack of export screening and the people who are in charge. Korea is willing to overcome the whitelist issue through a Korea-Japan summit that will be held during the Korea-China-Japan summit.

In the case of Japanese sexual slavery during World War II, there are strong calls for a victim-oriented approach. Korea maintains its position, saying Japan needs to apologize and provide compensation with sincerity. On the other hand, Japan considers that Korea has unilaterally breached the agreement between the two countries on the issue.

Lastly, regarding the Rising Sun Flag, it is highly objectionable in Korea, because of the strong perception that it is a symbol of Japanese militarism.

The current trade conflict was sparked by the Supreme Court's ruling on the conscription case over the seizure of Japanese corporate assets in South Korea. However, the root cause comes from the lack of trust between Korea and Japan.

Japan's growing distrust of Korea has its beginnings in Korea's tilting toward China. As then President Park Geun-hye attended the Commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People's War in September 2015, Japan was seriously concerned that Korea was moving toward to China. In addition, with Moon Jae-in's government, Japan is showing distrust in Korea's policy toward North Korea.

Furthermore, the declaration of the end of GSOMIA deepened concerns over distrust between Korea and Japan and cooperation between South Korea, Japan and the U.S. However, it is steadily recovering due to the conditional extension. The move to end GSOMIA was a response to Japan's lack of trust in Korea. On the other hand, it also was an important opportunity to reflect on the importance of Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation at home and abroad, in that it was a symbol of that cooperation

Worsening relations between Korea and Japan will not only have a negative impact on the security structure in Northeast Asia, it will also affect Korea-China-Japan cooperation. While the improvement in China-Japan relations is creating a good opportunity for the development of Korea-China-Japan cooperative relations, the actual drive has failed due to soured Korea-Japan relations.

To dispel concerns over Korea's tilting toward China, Korea should pursue trilateral cooperation to have a positive impact on improving bilateral relations and restoring trust. The GSOMIA issue has been resolved for now, but there are still many tasks left. In this sense, bilateral trust must be in place for further dialogue.

Song Wha-sup is a Senior Research Fellow in the Global Strategy Division of the Center for Security and Strategy at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA).