‘Moon-Abe talks are encouraging sign:’ US envoy
Stilwell urges Seoul to reconsider GSOMIA withdrawal
President Moon Jae-in’s recent meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is an “encouraging sign” in terms of improving bilateral relations, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affair David R. Stilwell said Wednesday.
“(I am) very encouraged while we were there to note that President Moon and Prime Minister Abe had the opportunity to talk and that’s an encouraging sign, as we watched the relationship improve,” Stilwell told reporters after talks with Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha at the ministry’s headquarters in Seoul.
Earlier this week, Moon had an 11-minute conversation with Abe in Bangok during which they agreed to resolve all bilateral pending issues via open dialogue.
Stilwell had discussions with Kang on bolstering the three-way security alliance among South Korea, Japan and the United States. His visit is seen by some observers as sending a message that Washington wants Seoul to reconsider its decision to pull out of an intelligence-sharing pact — the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) — with Japan amid an ongoing trade and diplomatic dispute caused by differing interpretations of history.
Stilwell declined to comment on the details of his discussions on other issues with Kang, only saying that he expects the two countries to hold “more meetings.”
In mid-August, the government decided to withdraw from the GSOMIA, in response to Tokyo’s apparent “trade retaliation” for a decision made by the South Korean Supreme Court on forced wartime labor. Seoul can reverse its decision up until Nov. 22 when the current pact expires.
Washington believes the GSOMIA is a major and symbolic security pact between its two Asian allies, and wants South Korea to reconsider its withdrawal in order to tighten regional security cooperation against possible threats from North Korea.
After holding talks with Kang and Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-young, the U.S. envoy expressed hopes that Seoul and Tokyo will enhance their relations to bolster regional peace.
Cheong Wa Dae spokeswoman Ko Min-jung said the government will make sincere efforts to address bilateral friction with Japan. “The Japanese government is also seeking to deal with key bilateral pending issues wisely,” Ko told reporters in a briefing. She added the administration would not renew the GSOMIA unless Japan cancels the trade restrictions it imposed on hightech exports to South Korean firms.
Stilwell reportedly had lunch with National Security Office Second Deputy Director Kim Hyun-chong somewhere outside Cheong Wa Dae, before resuming his schedule and holding talks with Ministry of National Defense officials.
According to the presidential office, Kim held talks with Stilwell and U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) commander Gen. Robert Abrams for just over an hour on “future-oriented” negotiations on security affairs between the allied countries.
“Both sides had a specific, constructive and future-oriented discussion on pending issues between the allies, such as the GSOMIA and the ongoing defense cost-sharing talks,” Ko said in a statement.
National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang has proposed a compromise deal to the Japanese government in an attempt to resolve the thorny issue of compensation for wartime forced labor, which has rocked Seoul-Tokyo relations over the past year.
Calling for lawmakers of the two countries to establish “a new system” that would help restore bilateral relations while the two sides remain as far apart as ever, Moon said he is planning to submit a comprehensive plan putting together other submitted plans for the forced labor issue.
Moon was on a four-day trip to Tokyo to attend a meeting of parliamentary speakers of G20 countries on Monday.
“We need to set up a fund which consists of contributions from companies of the two countries which do not just include those responsible but also others not directly related through voluntary participation,” Moon said during his lecture at
Japan’s Waseda University in Tokyo, Tuesday.
Moon also proposed the inclusion of the remaining 6 billion won ($5.18 million) from the Japan-funded Reconciliation and Healing Foundation and businesses from the countries.
The suggestion came before the official Nov. 22 deadline to renew an intelligence-sharing pact between Seoul and Tokyo. President Moon Jae-in agreed with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to address all pending bilateral issues via open dialogue during their 11-minute encounter in Bangkok, early this week.
Regarding the National Assembly speaker’s suggestion, Tokyo refused to accept the deal, as Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported a Japanese government official as saying the proposal assumes Japanese firms will pay for the compensation, which Japan cannot accept.
The speaker’s idea was to contradict Tokyo’s firmly held diplomatic position that all outstanding issues involving wartime forced labor were already completely settled under an economic cooperation agreement agreed to in 1965, which was attached to the basic treaty that normalized diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The speaker later that day met Rep. Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (LDP). Moon talked about his proposal, reports said.
Moon noted the two countries are facing significant moments as the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) is heading toward its official expiration.
“If such a bill I proposed [on the compensation of the victims of forced wartime labor] is not established, the relations between the two countries will come to a dead end,” Moon said during his visit to Tokyo Korean School, Wednesday.
Moon has also called on the two countries to restore the peaceful spirit of the 1998 Republic Korea-Japan Joint Declaration between South Korea’s then-President Kim Daejung and Japan’s then-Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi on building a future-oriented partnership.