TOKYO (AP) — Japan and South Korea have agreed on steps to resolve a trade dispute that was one of the strains leaders hoped to resolve at a much-anticipated summit on Thursday.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol are due to meet in Tokyo later in the day to resolve disputes over history and quickly rebuild their nations’ security and economic ties. A North Korean missile launch and encounters between Japanese and Chinese ships in disputed waters early Thursday show what is at stake for the two countries.
South Korea’s Trade Minister Lee Chang-yang said after talks this week that Japan had agreed to lift export controls on South Korea, which would withdraw its complaint with the World Trade Organization once restrictions were lifted.
Japan’s economy, trade and industry ministry said Japan acknowledged an improvement in South Korea’s export controls during the talks and that as a result of Seoul’s decision to drop the WTO case, Japan decided to drop restrictions against South Korea and the Restore the country to the status it had prior to July 2019.
Lee’s ministry said the countries would continue to discuss restoring preferential trade status for each other after downgrading each other in 2019.
Japanese export controls had caught fluorinated polyimides used in organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screens for TVs and smartphones, as well as photoresist and hydrogen fluoride used to make semiconductors.
The two countries, which have often fallen at each other in their histories, are trying to form a united front with their common ally, the US, fueled by shared concerns about an unruly North Korea and a more powerful China. Their peak comes as a series of dramatic events underscore how Northeast Asia is dividing into blocs.
NORTH KOREA WELCOMES SUMMIT WITH MISSILE TEST
A North Korean missile launch early Thursday, just before Yoon left for Tokyo, could add momentum for him and Kishida to bring their countries closer diplomatically. Launched on a steep trajectory to avoid land, the ICBM crashed into open waters off Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido.
The test comes after a year in which North Korea has escalated its nuclear threats, and is likely intended to send a message about both the summit and simultaneous joint military exercises involving the US, which the isolated country sees as targeting them.
“Regional peace and stability are important to the region, and we must continue to strengthen cooperation between allies and like-minded countries,” Kishida said of the missile launch.
Chief Cabinet Hirokazu Matsuno said Japan wants to reaffirm cooperation with Seoul and Washington in response to North Korea’s missile threats at the summit.
Yoon said in a written response to questions from foreign media including The Associated Press on Wednesday that strained relations between Korea and Japan need to be repaired as soon as possible. “I believe we must end the vicious cycle of mutual animosity and work together to pursue the common interests of our two countries.”
REGION ON THE MOVE LIKE WASHINGTON AND BEIJING FIGHT FOR INFLUENCE
Washington will welcome better Japan-South Korea relations as feuds over historic issues have undermined a US push to strengthen its alliances in Asia to better deal with North Korean nuclear threats and China’s rise.
China’s dispute with Japan over tiny islands in the East China Sea intensified on Thursday, as both sides accused the other of violating their sea territory after Chinese Coast Guard vessels entered waters around an uninhabited island group that Japan controls and calls Senkakus and the Beijing calls claimed and also names the Diaoyu Islands. The islands lie north of Taiwan, which also claims them as its own.
The summit also follows a series of Chinese diplomatic successes in regions traditionally seen as more US-influenced Weekly, Saudi Arabia and Iran announced a surprise deal to renew diplomatic ties brokered by China.
The US is also trying to strengthen regional alliances. Washington appears to have been working to bring about today’s summit, and joint anti-submarine exercises with South Korea and Japan, as well as Canada and India, began on Thursday.
SOUTH KOREA OFFERS CONCESSIONS TO MOVE THE PAST
The focus of attention at the two nations’ first summit in Japan since 2011 is how Kishida responds to Yoon’s plan for the fund, a major concession from Seoul, and whether or when they can resume defense dialogues and regular visits by leaders.
According to Kishida’s office, after the summit, Kishida and Yoon will have dinner together and then have informal talks. According to media reports, Kishida will host a two-part dinner: “sukiyaki” beef stew for a first round, then “omu rice” or rice with omelette — reportedly Yoon’s favorite dish — at another restaurant.
Japan and South Korea have long-standing disputes over Japanese colonization of the Korean Peninsula from 1910-1945 and atrocities during World War II, which included forced prostitution of “comfort women” for Japanese soldiers and territorial disputes over a cluster of islands.
Relations declined after South Korea’s Supreme Court ordered two Japanese companies, Nippon Steel and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, in 2018 to compensate some of their former Korean employees for forced labor during World War II.
Japan has insisted that all compensation issues were settled by a 1965 treaty that normalized bilateral ties and was accompanied by $800 million in economic aid and loans from Tokyo to Seoul.
The disputes over history spilled over into trade and defense. The two countries agreed to negotiate to bring their trade relations back to status quo before Japan imposed restrictions in 2019.
On Thursday, a powerful Japanese business lobby, Keidanren or the Japan Business Federation, announced that it and its South Korean counterpart have agreed to set up two private funds for bilateral projects such as youth exchanges.
A dozen business leaders traveling with Yoon are meeting with their Japanese counterparts on Friday.
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Associated Press writers Hyung-jin Kim and Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea contributed to this report.
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