[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] On the second day of his visit to Japan, Foreign Minister Park Jin is expected to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio on the 19th to propose a South Korea-Japan summit and convey his intention to resolve the forced labor issue early.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after arriving in Tokyo the previous day and holding a South Korea-Japan foreign ministers' meeting, Minister Park will visit the Prime Minister's Official Residence on this day to have a meeting with Prime Minister Kishida.
At this meeting, Minister Park plans to deliver a letter from President Yoon Suk-yeol expressing the desire to hold a summit and improve South Korea-Japan relations.
Upon his arrival at Haneda Airport the previous day, when asked if he would meet with Prime Minister Kishida on the 19th, he replied, "That is what I understand." Kyodo News also reported that "Prime Minister Kishida is coordinating to meet with Minister Park in the afternoon."
On the first day of his visit, Minister Park held a two-and-a-half-hour meeting with Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa, stating that efforts would be made to find a desirable solution before the cashing in of Japanese companies' domestic assets related to the compensation ruling for forced laborers during the Japanese colonial period.
Foreign Minister Hayashi also mentioned the need to resolve South Korea-Japan issues, including the forced labor problem, for the development of bilateral relations. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official explained, "It is significant that Minister Park provided a detailed explanation of the Public-Private Consultative Council to Foreign Minister Hayashi. The Japanese side was attentive."
However, since the meeting only resulted in a shared recognition of early resolution before cashing in, there are views that a prompt solution will not be easy. This is because there was no concrete approach to opinions regarding the apology and compensation methods demanded by the forced labor victims from Japanese companies.
In diplomatic circles, there are calls for urgent concrete efforts by the South Korean and Japanese governments for substantive negotiations and consensus on the compensation issue for forced labor victims.
Our government is to prepare compensation measures through the Public-Private Consultative Council, while the Japanese government needs to change its stance on the apology and compensation methods demanded by the forced labor victims from Japanese companies.
Meanwhile, on the 19th, Minister Park will also meet with Nukaga Fukushiro, Chairman of the Japan-Korea Parliamentarians' Union, in Tokyo to discuss ways to improve South Korea-Japan relations. He is also scheduled to visit the Liberal Democratic Party headquarters to pay respects to former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, who was shot and killed during the July 8 Upper House election campaign, and then meet with LDP Secretary-General Motegi Toshimitsu.
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