Kishida to Yoon: "Forced Labor is Heartbreaking... Successor to Historical Awareness of Past Japanese Governments"

Yoon-Kishida, 12th Summit Since Inauguration
"Preparing to Prevent North Korea's Provocations Using Russia as Backing"
"Regardless of Japan's Next Prime Minister, Korea-Japan Relations Are Important"

President Yoon Suk-yeol shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the expanded Korea-Japan summit held at the Yongsan Presidential Office in Seoul on the 6th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The Presidential Office stated on the 6th that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida confirmed once again that the Kishida administration inherits the historical awareness of past governments, including the 1998 Korea-Japan Partnership Joint Declaration, also known as the Kim Dae-jung-Obuchi Joint Declaration, regarding the issue of historical matters.

Kim Tae-hyo, the First Deputy Director of the National Security Office, said this during a briefing on the results of the Korea-Japan summit between President Yoon Suk-yeol and Prime Minister Kishida at the Yongsan Presidential Office that afternoon.

Deputy Director Kim said, "Regarding the forced labor issue, (Prime Minister Kishida) confirmed that he deeply feels sorrowful about the fact that many people suffered greatly and had painful and sad experiences under harsh conditions at that time."

Deputy Director Kim added, "Since President Yoon made a significant decision to improve Korea-Japan relations last March, cooperation between the two countries has greatly expanded. Prime Minister Kishida expressed his pleasure that exchanges and mutual understanding between the two countries have increased," and "Prime Minister Kishida said that although difficult issues still exist between the two countries, he intends to resolve them one by one with a progressive attitude in parallel with the development of bilateral relations."

President Yoon held a summit with Prime Minister Kishida, who visited Korea on the same day, from 3:35 p.m. for about 1 hour and 40 minutes. This meeting was the 12th bilateral summit between President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida since Yoon’s inauguration and the third Korea-Japan summit this year.

Deputy Director Kim explained, "During the summit, the two leaders reviewed the achievements of Korea-Japan cooperation made so far and exchanged in-depth opinions on ways to enhance practical cooperation between the two countries, the situation on the Korean Peninsula, Korea-US-Japan cooperation, and regional and global cooperation including the Indo-Pacific region."

He continued, "In the small-group meeting that lasted about 45 minutes, the two leaders agreed on the importance of Korea-Japan and Korea-US-Japan cooperation in responding to North Korea and the North Korean nuclear issue and discussed the development direction of the Camp David cooperation system," emphasizing, "They especially talked about strengthening cooperation between the two countries in preparation for various provocations by North Korea and agreed to maintain a calm readiness posture to prevent North Korea from provoking by using Russia as a backer."

Kim Tae-hyo, the First Deputy Director of the National Security Office, is briefing on the results of the South Korea-Japan summit between President Yoon Seok-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Yongsan Presidential Office building in Seoul on the 6th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

At the summit, President Yoon expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Kishida for promptly expressing support for the August 15 Unification Doctrine and said he hopes for Japan’s unwavering interest and support for Korea’s unification efforts.

In response, Prime Minister Kishida recalled that the three countries?Korea, the US, and Japan?at Camp David supported a free and peaceful unified Korean Peninsula and reaffirmed his position supporting the Korean government’s August 15 Unification Doctrine.

Deputy Director Kim explained, "At the subsequent expanded meeting, the two leaders agreed that through the normalization of Korea-Japan relations, they should accelerate practical cooperation ahead of the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations next year and continue the trend of improving Korea-Japan relations by reflecting on the achievements made together so far."

Deputy Director Kim said, "Prime Minister Kishida stated that regardless of who becomes Japan’s next prime minister, the importance of Korea-Japan relations will not change, and he himself will continue to support Korea-Japan relations going forward."