{"id":2199495,"date":"2022-11-16T10:58:28","date_gmt":"2022-11-16T10:58:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/koreapro\/?p=2199495"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:10:58","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:10:58","slug":"security-concerns-nudge-south-korea-and-japan-closer-with-encouragement-from-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/11\/security-concerns-nudge-south-korea-and-japan-closer-with-encouragement-from-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Security concerns nudge South Korea and Japan closer, with encouragement from US"},"content":{"rendered":"

South Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held their first <\/span>official<\/span><\/a> summit<\/span><\/a> in Phnom Penh over the weekend, in the most substantial sign to date that the neighbors are working to repair relations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yoon and Kishida previously held a brief \u201c<\/span>informal summit<\/span><\/a>\u201d in New York in late September, the first meeting between leaders of the two countries in three years, and this time the two leaders held slightly longer talks on a range of issues.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Nov. 13 meeting in Cambodia follows a grave crisis in Seoul-Tokyo ties, which in recent years <\/span>fell<\/span><\/a> to the <\/span>lowest point<\/span><\/a> since they normalized relations in 1965, primarily due to a historical dispute over compensation for Koreans conscripted into forced labor under Japanese colonial rule.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tokyo previously stated it would not hold summits with Seoul until the South Korean sides made progress on the issue, after South Korea\u2019s Supreme Court <\/span>ruled<\/span><\/a> that <\/span>Japanese companies<\/span><\/a> should <\/span>pay reparations<\/span><\/a>. But Japan obviously changed its position, a reflection of growing security concerns stemming from North Korea\u2019s weapons development.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt has become difficult to maintain the existing position,\u201d one Japanese official <\/span>said<\/span><\/a>. \u201cNorth Korea has linked Japan and South Korea.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But while the two sides made progress on security cooperation during their summit, the forced labor issue and other disputes still loom over bilateral ties, and it has taken heavy <\/span>encouragement<\/span><\/a> from the U.S. to bring the two together. Only sustained efforts will allow South Korea and Japan to begin to move past their troubled history.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Yoon arrives in Cambodia for the G-20 gathering | Image: South Korean Presidential Office<\/p><\/div>\n

BEHIND THE SCENES<\/b><\/p>\n

The Yoon administration has <\/span>worked<\/span><\/a> hard to resolve the forced labor issue and improve relations with Japan, something that has gone a long way with leaders in Tokyo. But it\u2019s also clear that there was a bigger player working behind the scenes to make the Yoon-Kishida meeting happen \u2014 the U.S.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ROK-Japan summit did not take place in isolation but came at the end of a chain of <\/span>summits<\/span><\/a>: first a Japan-U.S. summit, then ROK-U.S. and trilateral summits, and finally the Yoon-Kishida meeting.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cROK-U.S.-Japan trilateral security cooperation was the driving force behind the summit,\u201d a South Korean official <\/span>reportedly<\/span><\/a> said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Washington has been <\/span>worried<\/span><\/a> about how the sorry state of relations between its two major allies will affect its efforts to deter North Korea and contain China, seeking to bring Japan and ROK closer and create a triangular alliance. South Korea and Japan have few security <\/span>links<\/span><\/a> outside their military information-sharing agreement due to ingrained <\/span>suspicion<\/span><\/a> in the South about Japanese militarism.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the summit itself, Yoon and Kishida did not actually make any progress on the wartime labor issue. But their <\/span>official statement<\/span><\/a> said the leaders \u201creaffirmed that they will pursue an early resolution of this issue.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They also <\/span>agreed<\/span><\/a> to join forces in pursuit of a \u201cfree and open Indo-Pacific that is inclusive, resilient and secure.\u201d This was a clear result of the Yoon administration\u2019s more explicitly pro-U.S. position and emphasis on \u201cvalue diplomacy,\u201d after the previous Moon administration avoided references to Washington\u2019s Indo-Pacific concept to avoid angering China.<\/span><\/p>\n

A couple of days before the summit, Seoul had <\/span>introduced<\/span><\/a> an outline of South Korea\u2019s Indo-Pacific strategy, something a Japanese foreign ministry official <\/span>welcomed<\/span><\/a> as a positive sign that \u201cmore countries are taking the same approach in dealing with China.\u201d Kishida also <\/span>stated<\/span><\/a> after the summit that \u201cwe have confirmed that we are cooperating with President Yoon in regard to the creation of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Evaluating the summit result, expert Junya Nishino of Keio University <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> the two sides\u2019s agreement to pursue a resolution to the wartime labor issue since it\u2019s the main impediment to repairing ties.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, a Japanese diplomat told the Japanese daily <\/span>Mainichi<\/span><\/i><\/a> after the summit that relations between the two countries are on \u201ca mild upswing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Yoon and Kishida at their summit meeting in Cambodia on Nov. 13, 2022 | Image: South Korean Presidential Office<\/p><\/div>\n

ROADBLOCKS AHEAD<\/b><\/p>\n

Despite the evident progress from the summit, South Korea and Japan clearly have a long way to go to improve ties, and the biggest obstacle remains the historical issue of wartime labor.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Yoon administration hopes to solve this problem through an existing <\/span>foundation<\/span><\/a> that will <\/span>pay<\/span><\/a> compensation to the laborers. Seoul insists that Japanese companies should donate to this foundation in order to placate Korean public opinion, lest there be another outbreak of anti-Japanese sentiment. But Tokyo appears <\/span>cool<\/span><\/a> toward this proposal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Security cooperation also presents problems. The biggest <\/span>issue<\/span><\/a> is the <\/span>2018 radar incident<\/span><\/a> when an ROK warship allegedly aimed its targeting radar at a Japanese plane.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Japanese military remains sensitive about the issue. Chief of staff of the JMSDF Ryo Sakai <\/span>stated<\/span><\/a> on <\/span>Nov. 15<\/span><\/a> that the ball is in South Korea’s court and that naval exchanges cannot proceed until Seoul apologizes for the incident, and Japan\u2019s defense minister echoed this position.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yoon and Kishida\u2019s <\/span>low<\/span><\/a> approval<\/span><\/a> ratings<\/span><\/a> also create problems for increasing cooperation, as both leaders need to tread carefully to avoid angering the public and stirring up nationalist sentiment. On the wartime labor issue, Yoon will have to overcome significant anti-Japanese feeling and public expectations that Japan still must make amends for its colonial rule.<\/span><\/p>\n

For its part, Tokyo also remembers very well how the Moon administration in 2017 <\/span>unilaterally<\/span><\/a> abandoned<\/span><\/a> a comfort women <\/span>agreement<\/span><\/a> negotiated with Tokyo under his predecessor. They understand that sooner or later the opposition will return to power in South Korea, at which time the government could very well renege on any agreements made under Yoon.<\/span><\/p>\n

The recovery of South Korea-Japan relations still largely depends on the U.S., and the recent summits were only impossible thanks to Washington\u2019s <\/span>involvement<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

North Korea\u2019s continuing <\/span>missile launches<\/span><\/a> and rising tensions in East Asia are also major trends pushing Japan and South Korea to <\/span>reconcile<\/span><\/a>. Both sides understand the importance of security cooperation and their alliances with the U.S. If Pyongyang conducts a nuclear test, it will only push Tokyo and Seoul closer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But are these <\/span>security concerns<\/span><\/a> significant enough to convince Tokyo and Seoul to finally resolve their conflicts and rebuild relations? It\u2019s certainly been enough to get them talking again and set things moving in a better direction, but their bilateral disputes have deep roots that won\u2019t be so easily overcome.<\/span><\/p>\n

Edited by Bryan Betts<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Culture & Society<\/span><\/a>Defense & Security<\/span><\/a>Inter-Korean & Foreign Relations<\/span><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held their first official summit in Phnom Penh over the weekend, in the most substantial sign to date that the neighbors are working to repair relations. Yoon and Kishida previously held a brief \u201cinformal summit\u201d in New York in late September, the first meeting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7797,"featured_media":2199499,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[25,26,28],"yoast_head":"\nSecurity concerns nudge South Korea and Japan closer, with encouragement from US - KOREA PRO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/11\/security-concerns-nudge-south-korea-and-japan-closer-with-encouragement-from-us\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Security concerns nudge South Korea and Japan closer, with encouragement from US - KOREA PRO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"South Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held their first official summit in Phnom Penh over the weekend, in the most substantial sign to date that the neighbors are working to repair relations. Yoon and Kishida previously held a brief \u201cinformal summit\u201d in New York in late September, the first meeting […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/11\/security-concerns-nudge-south-korea-and-japan-closer-with-encouragement-from-us\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"KOREA PRO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nknewsorg\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-11-16T10:58:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-04-05T07:10:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/11\/yoon-kishida-first-official-summit.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1084\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"580\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"bryanbetts\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@southkoreapro\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@southkoreapro\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Justin Yeo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/11\/security-concerns-nudge-south-korea-and-japan-closer-with-encouragement-from-us\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/11\/security-concerns-nudge-south-korea-and-japan-closer-with-encouragement-from-us\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"bryanbetts\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#\/schema\/person\/4398fb958ec5e35cbf459a27d4c7d522\"},\"headline\":\"Security concerns nudge South Korea and Japan closer, with encouragement from US\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-11-16T10:58:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-05T07:10:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/11\/security-concerns-nudge-south-korea-and-japan-closer-with-encouragement-from-us\/\"},\"wordCount\":1099,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Culture & Society\",\"Defense & Security\",\"Inter-Korean & Foreign Relations\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Analysis\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/11\/security-concerns-nudge-south-korea-and-japan-closer-with-encouragement-from-us\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/11\/security-concerns-nudge-south-korea-and-japan-closer-with-encouragement-from-us\/\",\"name\":\"Security concerns nudge South Korea and Japan closer, with encouragement from US - KOREA PRO\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-11-16T10:58:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-05T07:10:58+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/11\/security-concerns-nudge-south-korea-and-japan-closer-with-encouragement-from-us\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/11\/security-concerns-nudge-south-korea-and-japan-closer-with-encouragement-from-us\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/11\/security-concerns-nudge-south-korea-and-japan-closer-with-encouragement-from-us\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Security concerns nudge South Korea and Japan closer, with encouragement from US\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/\",\"name\":\"KOREA PRO\",\"description\":\"Be smart about South Korea. Up-to-date analysis on foreign relations, politics, society and economy. Made by the producers of NK PRO and NK News.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"KOREA PRO\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/11\/logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/11\/logo.png\",\"width\":360,\"height\":50,\"caption\":\"KOREA PRO\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nknewsorg\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/southkoreapro\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Security concerns nudge South Korea and Japan closer, with encouragement from US - KOREA PRO","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/11\/security-concerns-nudge-south-korea-and-japan-closer-with-encouragement-from-us\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Security concerns nudge South Korea and Japan closer, with encouragement from US - KOREA PRO","og_description":"South Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held their first official summit in Phnom Penh over the weekend, in the most substantial sign to date that the neighbors are working to repair relations. Yoon and Kishida previously held a brief \u201cinformal summit\u201d in New York in late September, the first meeting […]","og_url":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/11\/security-concerns-nudge-south-korea-and-japan-closer-with-encouragement-from-us\/","og_site_name":"KOREA PRO","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nknewsorg\/","article_published_time":"2022-11-16T10:58:28+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-04-05T07:10:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1084,"height":580,"url":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/11\/yoon-kishida-first-official-summit.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"bryanbetts","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@southkoreapro","twitter_site":"@southkoreapro","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Justin Yeo","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/11\/security-concerns-nudge-south-korea-and-japan-closer-with-encouragement-from-us\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/11\/security-concerns-nudge-south-korea-and-japan-closer-with-encouragement-from-us\/"},"author":{"name":"bryanbetts","@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#\/schema\/person\/4398fb958ec5e35cbf459a27d4c7d522"},"headline":"Security concerns nudge South Korea and Japan closer, with encouragement from US","datePublished":"2022-11-16T10:58:28+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-05T07:10:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/11\/security-concerns-nudge-south-korea-and-japan-closer-with-encouragement-from-us\/"},"wordCount":1099,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#organization"},"keywords":["Culture & Society","Defense & Security","Inter-Korean & Foreign Relations"],"articleSection":["Analysis"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/11\/security-concerns-nudge-south-korea-and-japan-closer-with-encouragement-from-us\/","url":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/11\/security-concerns-nudge-south-korea-and-japan-closer-with-encouragement-from-us\/","name":"Security concerns nudge South Korea and Japan closer, with encouragement from US - KOREA PRO","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-11-16T10:58:28+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-05T07:10:58+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/11\/security-concerns-nudge-south-korea-and-japan-closer-with-encouragement-from-us\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/11\/security-concerns-nudge-south-korea-and-japan-closer-with-encouragement-from-us\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/11\/security-concerns-nudge-south-korea-and-japan-closer-with-encouragement-from-us\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Security concerns nudge South Korea and Japan closer, with encouragement from US"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/","name":"KOREA PRO","description":"Be smart about South Korea. Up-to-date analysis on foreign relations, politics, society and economy. Made by the producers of NK PRO and NK News.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#organization","name":"KOREA PRO","url":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/11\/logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2022\/11\/logo.png","width":360,"height":50,"caption":"KOREA PRO"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nknewsorg\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/southkoreapro"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2199495"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7797"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2199495"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2199495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2199500,"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2199495\/revisions\/2199500"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2199499"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2199495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2199495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2199495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}