| President Moon Jae-in, fourth from left, speaks during a meeting with South Korean lawmakers of the Korea-Japan Parliamentarians' Union and their Japanese counterparts in the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in this Dec. 14, 2018. Korea Times file |
By Park Ji-won
Lawmakers from South Korea and Japan will meet in Tokyo in September to discuss ways to resolve strained relations between the two countries.
"The South Korea-Japan Parliamentarians' Union and its Japanese counterpart have decided to hold a general meeting from Sept. 17 to 19 in Tokyo to discuss ways to seek cooperation with each other to resolve tensions between South Korea and Japan," Rep. Kim Kwang-lim of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, a key member of the bipartisan body, told The Korea Times, Monday
"The two will also talk about issues such as Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea and the latter's nuclear weapons. The committees on foreign affairs, women and security have each suggested two topics. The agreement on the specific agenda will be released soon," Kim added.
On Saturday and Sunday, Kim and South Korean lawmakers of the group met with seven of their Japanese counterparts including former Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province and decided to hold the meeting in Tokyo.
The move comes amid rising tension between Seoul and Tokyo after the South Korean Supreme Court ruled in October that Japanese firms must compensate South Koreans forced to work for them during Japan's colonial rule. Japan asked South Korea, Monday, to form an arbitration committee to help settle the forced labor issues while the South made it clear it will respect the ruling.
South Korean experts have been raising concerns over the prolonged diplomatic deadlock as it could have an impact on the country's economy.
Earlier, the Kyodo News Agency reported that the lawmakers had agreed to discuss measures to block maritime disputes in the September meeting following a "radar conflict." Since December, South Korea and Japan have been sparring over the issue of a Navy vessel's use of its radar in the East Sea. Japan claims that a Korean warship locked its fire control radar onto one of its maritime patrol aircraft. South Korea denied the claim stating the destroyer had been on a humanitarian mission to rescue a North Korean ship that was drifting in international waters of the East Sea.
However, Kim denied the report that the radar spat was included in the agenda.