S Korea, Japan PMs meet amid deep freeze

J A PA N’S P r i me Mi n i s t e r Sh i n zo Abe met h is Sout h Korean counterpart on Thursday and warned frayed relations should be mended, but appea red to suggest it was Seoul’s responsibility to make that happen.

Bi latera l t ies bet ween t he reg iona l neig hbours a re at rock-bot tom over a dispute related to t he use of forced labour during World War II, wit h t he cou nt r ies t rad i ng reta liator y sanctions.

“The relationship bet ween Japan and South Korea is in now a n ex t remely ser ious situation, but t his important relationship should not be left like t his,” Abe sa id during a meeting wit h Sout h Korea n Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, the foreign ministr y in Tok yo said.

But A b e adde d t h a t he wanted “Sout h Korea to keep t he prom i ses bet ween t he t wo c ou nt r ie s to c r e at e a c a t a l y s t f or r e c ov e r i ng a hea lt hy Japa n-Sout h Korea relat ionship”.

The brief exchange was the f irst such high-level meeting since relat ions bet ween t he countries began to sour in the wake of South Korean court r u l i ngs order i ng Japa nese firms to compensate wartime labourers.

‘National security grounds’

I n Ju l y, Japa n t ig htened e x por t c ont r ol s on t h r e e chemica ls essent ia l to key produc t s made by S out h Korean firms including Samsu ng. Seou l ha s ret a l iated wit h its trade measures.

Japan says its decision was made on nat iona l secu r it y g rounds, but t he move was widely seen as a response to the compensation rulings.

Japa n says a l l repa rat ion claims from its 35-year colonia l rule were sett led under a 1965 t reat y a nd a ssociated economic agreements made as the countries normalised relat ions.

L ee, who was i n Japa n to at tend t he Japa nese emperor ’s for ma l ent h r onement ceremony ea rl ier t his week, ha nded a let ter f rom Sout h K o r e a n P r e s i d e n t Mo o n Jae-i n to Abe, t he minist r y sa id.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, citing a South Korean o f f i c i a l , s a i d t h e l e t t e r described Japan as a key partner for reg iona l peace but stopped shor t of proposi ng the t wo leaders meet.

While bot h count r ies a re key US a l l ies i n t he reg ion, relat ions bet ween t he t wo rema i n heav i ly a f fected by Japan’s expansionism in the f irst half of t he 20t h centur y, including its wartime activ ities on t he peninsula.