South Korea’s unification minister and senior Japanese government officials reaffirmed their close cooperation in response to North Korea’s escalating missile threats at a rare meeting on Thursday, a sign of a further thaw in relations that comes only a week after their leaders agreed to move past their tumultuous history and mend ties so that they can jointly respond to growing regional threats.
Kwon Youngse is in Tokyo for discussions with Japanese ministers and top governing party officials, making him the first minister of unification to visit the Japanese capital in 18 years. His travel follows last week’s summit between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, during which they vowed to restart frequent visits and initiate high-level discussions on security, trade, and other problems.
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The unification minister of South Korea is in Japan to talk about North Korea.
According to a Foreign Ministry statement, Kwon and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi agreed that North Korea’s repeated ballistic missile launches, which have occurred at an unprecedented rate, pose a “serious and pressing threat to regional security and a clear and grave challenge to international society.”
The two ministers reiterated their strong collaboration in response to the nuclear and missile threats posed by North Korea, the ministry said.
Hayashi stated at the opening of the meeting that the summit held last week was “a tremendous success” and commended Yoon’s efforts to improve bilateral relations. Hayashi also expressed his want to meet with Minister Kwon without delay.
The South Korean unification minister is in Tokyo to discuss North Korea.
In response, Kwon stated that the process of repairing relationships has only begun, and he hopes that more efforts by the two administrations would assist to strengthen their positive relations.
He stated that North Korea’s nuclear and human rights concerns are a concern not only for South Korea, but for the entire world community. To address these concerns, he stated that his country must also deepen its connections with Japan.
South Korea and Japan are important U.S. allies with extensive economic and cultural connections. Nonetheless, their ties have frequently deteriorated due to conflicts arising from Japan’s colonial occupation of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945.
Following lengthy discussions with Japan, the South Korean government revealed earlier this month intentions to utilize local funds to resolve a reparations issue over Korean forced labor during World War II, resulting in the first full meeting between the two nations’ leaders in 12 years.