Presidential Office: "Intensive Consultations Underway on Korea-Japan Forced Labor Issue"

Presidential Office on Korea-Japan Summit Forced Labor Discussion: "Narrowing the Gap, Seeking Ways to Resolve Quickly"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] The Presidential Office announced on the 16th that "quite intensive consultations are underway" regarding the forced labor issue between the South Korean and Japanese governments. President Yoon Seok-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio held their first summit on the 13th in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, confirming their determination to resolve "bilateral issues."

That afternoon, a senior official from the Presidential Office met with reporters at the Yongsan Presidential Office building and said about the summit between the two leaders, "There were no specific talks about solutions to the forced labor issue, but both leaders confirmed that quite intensive consultations are underway regarding the solution and that they are closely monitoring the progress of these consultations."

The official added, "This can be interpreted to mean that the working-level teams have reported that the solutions are now narrowing down to one or two options," and explained, "Since the gap has narrowed significantly, there was an atmosphere of seeking ways to quickly resolve the issue and bring it to a close."

Earlier, at the summit, the two leaders strongly condemned North Korea's successive ballistic missile launches as serious and grave provocations threatening peace and security not only on the Korean Peninsula but also in Northeast Asia and the international community. They also agreed to cooperate in responding to North Korea's nuclear and missile programs through measures at the UN Security Council level and by strengthening security cooperation among South Korea, the United States, and Japan. In particular, the two leaders evaluated the active communication between their diplomatic authorities regarding bilateral issues and agreed to continue consultations for an early resolution. This was also interpreted as referring to the forced labor compensation issue, considered the biggest obstacle to restoring South Korea-Japan relations.