South Korea, Japan ‘ready to stop North Korea hiding behind Russia’

Leaders of South Korea and Japan said they would maintain their readiness to stop North Korea hiding behind Russia in its provocative acts, Kim Tae-hyo, South Korea’s deputy national security adviser, said on Friday.

Kim was speaking after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met for talks in Seoul that included ways to deepen cooperation, even as Kishida prepares to step down at the end of the month.

Kishida arrived for a two-day visit and talks with Yoon, their 12th summit in about two years. It was their last summit, as Kishida will not seek reelection as prime minister and leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party after three years in the job.

During the summit, Kishida called for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula through a “unification doctrine” that Yoon announced last month, which focuses on expanding North Koreans’ access to external information and proposes establishing an official dialogue channel between the two Koreas to discuss various issues.

Yoon, in his opening remarks at Friday’s summit, said it was important to maintain the positive momentum in relations with Japan.

He added that the two countries have a chance to raise their relations to another level when they mark next year’s 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties and that working with Kishida on improving relations was the most meaningful development since he became president.

Relations between the two U.S. allies have been fraught for years because of South Korea resentment of Japan’s behavior during its occupation of Korea before and during World War II.

But Yoon and Kishida have been able to build a close relationship as a result of Yoon’s decision last year to resolve a long-standing dispute regarding Japan’s wartime mobilization of Koreans for forced labor by compensating victims without contributions from Japanese firms.

The two leaders have since resumed a “shuttle diplomacy” of holding meetings on the fringes of international conferences and visiting each other as needed.

Their restored relations have also substantially enhanced trilateral security cooperation with the United States, as all three of the allies warily watch North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons and the missiles to carry them. 

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South Korea has been trying to bolster cooperation with regional partners in response to deepening military ties between North Korea and Russia. 

On Wednesday, Yoon met New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. They condemned North Korea’s nuclear weapons development and its military cooperation with Russia, including the North’s export of ballistic missiles to Russia in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Yoon and Luxon denounced Russia’s war against Ukraine, while pledging to support Ukrainian sovereignty and its efforts to secure a just and lasting peace, according to a joint statement.

Edited by Mike Firn.