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| President Yoon Suk Yeol shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida after a joint press conference following their summit at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, Japan, Thursday. Yonhap |
Seoul to normalize military intel-sharing pact with Tokyo
By Nam Hyun-woo
TOKYO ― President Yoon Suk Yeol said, Thursday, that improving bilateral relations to respond more effectively to security and economic issues serves the national interests of both South Korea and Japan and is not a "zero-sum" game, but a win-win situation.
He made the comment following his summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, which was the latest among steps he has taken to improve frayed ties between the two countries.
During the summit, Yoon and Kishida agreed to resume regular visits to each other's countries, while lifting trade restrictions that Tokyo imposed on Seoul against the backdrop of historical disputes. Also, the South Korean president said he agreed with Kishida to resume an intelligence-sharing pact between the two countries, better known as General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), to counter North Korea's increasing nuclear and missile threats.
The two-day trip is the first visit to Tokyo for a summit by a South Korean leader in 12 years and the latest manifestation of Yoon's efforts to overcome the thorny history of the neighboring countries and to improve their soured relations, aiming to become partners for future prosperity amid global upheavals in the fields of security and economy.
"South Korea and Japan are the closest neighbors and cooperating partners as they share democratic and universal values and pursue common interests in global agendas including security and the economy," Yoon said during a joint press conference with Kishida following their summit at the Japanese leader's residence in Tokyo.
"During the summit, I and Prime Minister Kishida acknowledged that the two countries' people have suffered direct and indirect damage due to the chilly bilateral relations and agreed to recover it in a prompt manner."
Yoon added: "I don't think the interests of South Korea and Japan are in a zero-sum situation, but a win-win."
The summit, the third one between the two leaders, took place less than two weeks after the Yoon administration came up with a plan, March 6, to resolve Japan's wartime forced labor issue.
"If the two countries' relations are normalized with the plan, it will help address the two countries' security problems," he added.
In that respect, Yoon announced the complete normalization of GSOMIA.
"I said during the summit that GSOMIA will be fully normalized. I believe the two countries should be able to share intelligence on North Korea's missile launch and trajectory and jointly respond," Yoon said.
The intelligence-sharing pact has been in an unstable state, as the former Moon Jae-in administration nearly let it expire in 2019 in response to Tokyo's tightened controls on exports to Seoul.
According to a senior official at Seoul's presidential office, South Korea will normalize the pact by sending Japan an official document withdrawing the previous administration's intention to let it expire.
"With North Korea firing a missile this morning, intelligence sharing is a very important asset," the official said.
Kishida likened the relations to "blooming cherry blossoms in Tokyo" and said the leaders have "agreed to improve bilateral relations based on friendship."
"During the summit with President Yoon, we shared our view that improving the relations between Japan and South Korea is urgent in the current strategic environment and agreed to deepen the bilateral relations further based on the friendly and cooperative relations which were set when the two countries formed diplomatic ties in 1965," the Japanese premier said.
In line with this, Yoon and Kishida agreed that they will resume the so-called "shuttle diplomacy," where the leaders regularly visit each other's countries, without being confined to "the reality they are facing." The practice has been suspended since 2011 due to the frayed bilateral ties.
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| President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hold a summit along with their respective officials at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, Japan, Thursday. Yonhap |
The two countries' relations had been at their lowest ebb after the South Korean Supreme Court in 2018 ordered Japanese firms to compensate victims who were forced to work at Japanese factories during World War II.
Claiming the issue was already addressed by a 1965 treaty between the two countries, Tokyo imposed export controls on key industrial materials shipped to Seoul in 2019, while South Korea responded by lodging a complaint at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
To end this vicious cycle, the Yoon administration proposed an alternative compensation plan this month, under which a South Korean public foundation will compensate the victims without the direct involvement of the Japanese firms. The proposal drew favorable responses from Japan and painted a rosy outlook for improvements in strained bilateral relations.
Kishida noted that he "highly evaluates" the compensation plan as "an effort to return bilateral relations to a healthy status" and that the Japanese government will "uphold the historical position held by the past administrations, including the 1998 joint declaration announced by then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi."
In the declaration, Obuchi expressed his deep remorse and apology for the "tremendous damage and suffering" the Korean people experienced during Japan's colonial occupation.
However, Kishida did not express additional regrets or remorse over the past history, which have been urged by South Korea. While Yoon has been stressing the necessity of improving ties with Japan for the sake of Seoul's national interests, the South Korean public is showing negative responses.
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| President Yoon Suk Yeol, alongside Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, inspects an honor guard at the latter's official residence in Tokyo, Japan, Thursday, ahead of their summit. Yonhap |
During the press conference, Yoon said Seoul has no plans to seek reimbursement from Japan after compensating forced labor victims.
Along with bilateral relations, Yoon and Kishida said they confirmed the necessity of strengthening the security cooperation of South Korea, Japan and the U.S. to more effectively deter North Korea's nuclear threats.
As the leaders agreed to mend their ties in a prompt manner, economic restrictions that the two countries implemented until now were also addressed.
Before the summit, Seoul's Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang announced that the ministry and Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry agreed to lift Tokyo's restrictions on exports of three industrial materials ― fluorine polyimide, photoresist and hydrogen fluoride ― heading to South Korea.
In response, Seoul will drop its complaint with the WTO on the export controls. They also agreed to put South Korea and Japan back on their respective lists of preferred trade partners, called the white list.
"The agreement does not end at lifting export restrictions," Lee said during a press conference in Tokyo. "It will be the first step toward building the two countries' trust in each other and serve as the stepping stone for expanding bilateral economic cooperation and stabilizing global supply chains."
The three materials are essential for chips and display manufacturing. Tokyo began restricting their exports in 2019, in an apparent retaliation against the South Korean Supreme Court's 2018 ruling ordering Japanese companies to compensate Korean forced labor victims.
"As Japan lifts the export controls, the period for acquiring (Japanese authority's) license for exports will be shortened and less documentation will be required, clearing companies of uncertainties related to costs," said Kang Kam-chan, director general for Trade Controls Policy at Seoul's trade ministry. "This will bring invisible but huge impacts on expanding bilateral investments and trade cooperation and managing the economic security of the two countries."
Alongside the government-level cooperation, the two countries' leading business lobby groups ― Seoul's Federation of Korean Industries and Japan's Keidanren ― jointly announced "Korea-Japan Future Partnership Declaration" and a plan to set up a "Future Partnership Fund" to carry out projects to solve common challenges they face.
