Korea, Japan FMs reaffirm partnership ahead of Seoul's review of comfort women deal

SEOUL/TOKYO -- The top diplomats of South Korea and Japan reaffirmed Tuesday their close partnership in curbing North Korea's nuclear and missile development as the Seoul-Tokyo relationship still remains chilly over their historical feud.

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono "reaffirmed their common goal of peacefully resolving the North Korean nuclear issue" during their talks in Japan earlier in the day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

"They agreed to continue their diplomatic efforts to bring North Korea out to the negotiating table in addition to strong sanctions and pressure on North Korea," the statement also said.

The agreement was reached before the bilateral relationship is likely to take a turn for the worse next week with Seoul's announcement of the result of its five-month probe into the neighbors' 2015 deal to end a long-running feud over Japan's history of mobilizing Korean women as sex workers during World War II.

The investigation by a task force under Kang is expected to disapprove of the deal signed under the previous administration of impeached President Park Geun-hye as not reflective of the voice of Korean sex slavery victims in the announcement slated for Dec. 27.

(Yonhap)
Ahead of the upcoming event, both ministers pledged to step up communications and further expand and deepen the bilateral relationship.

"Kang stressed her government's sustained position that difficult issues between the countries will be managed in a stable manner and a forward-looking, mature partnership will be further sought after through frequent communications," according to the statement.

Kono also pledged efforts to develop the bilateral relationship into a future-forward one despite current difficulties, it also said.

During the meeting, Kang briefed Kono on the process of the task force probe and raised other historical issues that need to be resolved, according the ministry.

Kang and Kono also tentatively agree to review Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's possible visit to South Korea during the latter's hosting of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.

Also discussed were ways to deepen bilateral cooperation and exchanges in the fields of economy, culture and human resources.

Following the meeting, Kono told reporters that he told Kang, "It is important to implement (the deal) faithfully."

Kang arrived in Japan on the day for a two-day visit, which includes her courtesy call on Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday.

It marks Kang's first trip to Japan since taking office in June and the first trip by a South Korean foreign minister to the neighboring country since June 2015.

The meeting came after North Korea test-fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile in late November, claiming that it has completed its "state nuclear force."

The growing security threat from North Korea is accelerating calls for ever-tighter joint efforts by Seoul and Tokyo to deter North Korean provocations while the bilateral relationship remains icy.

The 2015 deal failed to settle the so-called comfort women issue with the Moon Jae-in government having said that the deal does not reflect public sentiment and that there appear to be procedural problems.

Historians estimate that up to 200,000 women, mostly from Korea, were forced into sexual servitude for front-line Japanese soldiers during World War II, while the Korean Peninsula was under Japanese colonial rule. They are euphemistically called comfort women.

Arriving at Japan's Haneda Airport earlier in the day, Kang told reporters that she will tell Kono about the progress of the independent task force investigation and that the result may not necessarily correspond with the South Korean government's stance.

Ahead of the foreign ministerial talks, Kono stressed to reporters that the government-to-government deal is irreversible, renewing a call on Seoul to abide by it. (Yonhap)

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