“Dokdo Cannot Become a Hot Issue... Our Land That We Occupy”
Kim Tae-hyo, the First Deputy Director of the National Security Office, said on the 18th regarding Japanese media reports suggesting that the comfort women and Dokdo issues were raised during the Korea-Japan summit between President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, "The conversations exchanged between the leaders at the summit cannot all be disclosed."
Deputy Director Kim appeared on YTN's 'News Wide' that day and responded this way to the host's question, "Did Prime Minister Kishida request a firm implementation of the comfort women agreement?" Earlier, the Presidential Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in a press release the previous day that "neither the comfort women issue nor the Dokdo issue was discussed at the Korea-Japan summit held on the 16th."
When asked if there was any mention of Dokdo, Kim replied, "It cannot be a hot issue. It is our land currently occupied by us," adding, "To my recollection, no Japanese officials have recently brought up the Dokdo issue to us."
Regarding Prime Minister Kishida's remark about "inheriting the historical awareness of previous cabinets" and the criticism that Japan did not specifically mention apologies or remorse, he said, "The official apologies from Japan to us, as tallied by our Ministry of Foreign Affairs, exceed 20 times."
He added, "In the future, if political and civil society exchanges between Korea and Japan expand and trust is built during the implementation process of (the summit's content), and if a more positive environment is created both on the Japanese side and in domestic politics, then it will be something to watch."
However, Kim noted, "Prime Minister Kishida was the Foreign Minister at the time and one of the parties to the 2015 Korea-Japan comfort women agreement," adding, "He read out a sincere reflection and apology, but exactly three years later, our country dissolved the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation."
Kim explained that out of the 10 billion yen (approximately 100 million won) Japan contributed to the Reconciliation and Healing Foundation, 5.6 billion won remains, and the rest was paid to 35 of the 47 surviving comfort women at the time. He reiterated the government's position that the agreement is still valid.
Regarding the achievements of this summit, Kim evaluated, "Ultimately, the first button was fastened." He added, "Since the inauguration of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration in May last year, the Japanese government has gradually opened its heart," and said, "This summit is the definitive result of that and signals a new beginning."
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