Cho Tae-yeol, Minister of Foreign Affairs, who visited Japan to attend the 11th Korea-China-Japan Foreign Ministers' Meeting, stated on the 22nd during a bilateral meeting with Japan that "amid uncertainties caused by policies such as those of the second Trump administration in the United States, we shared ways for Korea and Japan, which are in similar situations, to respond." This is Cho's first visit to Japan since his inauguration in January last year.
After concluding the Korea-Japan Foreign Ministers' Meeting, Minister Cho met with correspondents and said, "We agreed to promote deeper cooperation based on a shared consensus on the need to develop Korea-Japan relations across both societies recently." He added, "Despite domestic circumstances, we reaffirmed the basic tone of bilateral relations and confirmed Japan's support and trust in our democracy."
Regarding Japan's recent additional provision of the passenger list of the Ukishima-maru, which sank while carrying Koreans in Japan who were trying to return home immediately after liberation in 1945, Minister Cho described it as "a good example of progress on historical issues amid a positive flow in Korea-Japan relations."
Meanwhile, excluding accompanying the summit events, this is the first solo visit to Japan by a Korean foreign minister in about 2 years and 8 months since former Minister Park Jin in July 2022.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
