Korea-Japan Leaders Talk After 9 Months... Suga Says "We Must Not Neglect Bilateral Relations"

President Moon and Prime Minister Suga Hold First Phone Talk on 24th... Suga: "Japan-Korea, Japan-US-Korea Cooperation is Important"
Suga Mentions Need to Create Opportunity for Improving Relations to President Moon... Requests Cooperation on Resolving North Korean Abduction Issue

President Moon Jae-in [Photo by Yonhap News]

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga
[Photo by Reuters]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga held their first phone talk on the 24th, marking the first direct conversation between the two leaders in nine months. Prime Minister Suga emphasized during the call that the deteriorated Korea-Japan relationship should not be left unattended and that an opportunity to restore it must be created.

According to NHK and other broadcasters, President Moon and Prime Minister Suga held a 20-minute phone talk starting at 11 a.m. that day. This was the first direct dialogue between the two leaders in their respective capacities as heads of state, and the first direct conversation between the Korea-Japan leaders in nine months since the Korea-China-Japan summit held in China last December.

After the talk, Prime Minister Suga told reporters at the Japanese Prime Minister’s Office, "President Moon congratulated me on my appointment as Prime Minister, and we discussed working together on various issues including the COVID-19 problem." He also said they agreed to cooperate on COVID-19 and added, "Korea and Japan are important neighboring countries to each other, and coordination among Korea-Japan, Japan-U.S., and Korea-U.S.-Japan is important, especially regarding North Korea issues."

Prime Minister Suga mentioned the freezing of Korea-Japan relations due to issues such as the forced labor compensation rulings and said that he told President Moon, "We must not leave the bilateral relationship in this very difficult situation as it is." He demanded that the Korean side respond appropriately to issues surrounding the rulings on forced labor during the Japanese colonial period, stating, "Based on Japan’s consistent position on various issues, we want to strongly demand appropriate responses from Korea going forward."

Additionally, Prime Minister Suga requested cooperation to resolve the issue of Japanese abductees by North Korea, and according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, President Moon expressed his support.

Regarding the first Korea-Japan phone talk, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato explained at a regular briefing that the meeting was held following a proposal from the Korean side. He said, "Korea remains an important neighboring country, and the recognition that coordination among Korea-Japan and Japan-U.S.-Korea is essential for regional stability, including the North Korea issue, has not changed."

He added, "However, it is also true that there are difficult issues between Japan and Korea, including the problem of former Korean Peninsula laborers (forced labor victims)." He emphasized, "Regarding these issues, based on a consistent position, we want to continue demanding appropriate responses from the Korean side." He further stated, "Basically, (Korea and Japan) are neighboring countries above all, but on individual issues, we will clearly state our position and urge appropriate responses from Korea. I believe this is a firm continuation of our current approach."

Earlier, on the 16th, President Moon sent a congratulatory letter to newly appointed Prime Minister Suga, saying, "Let us work together to further develop Korea-Japan relations," to which Prime Minister Suga replied, "I hope to overcome difficult issues and build a future-oriented Korea-Japan relationship."

Since his inauguration, Prime Minister Suga has held phone talks with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, U.S. President Donald Trump, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Japanese foreign media report that a phone talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping is being planned for the 25th.