Japan, South Korea foreign ministers may meet in Tokyo next month

Japan is considering a foreign ministerial meeting with South Korea next month in Tokyo, government sources said Tuesday, as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida seeks to mend soured bilateral ties following the launch of a new government in Seoul.

If realized, it will be the first in-person meeting in Japan since November 2019 by top diplomats from the two countries. The two neighboring countries have been locked in disputes over wartime issues for many years and their relations sank to their lowest level in decades under former South Korean President Moon Jae In.

Japan is planning to hold a meeting between Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and his new South Korean counterpart Park Jin before June 22, the most likely date for the start of campaigning for the upcoming House of Councillors election, the sources said.

The Japanese government will decide whether it is possible to go ahead with the plan after carefully assessing the political situations in both countries, they said.

A recent marine survey by a South Korean research vessel in waters off the disputed islets of Takeshima in the Sea of Japan has irritated some members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party led by Kishida.

The survey was confirmed on the weekend within Japan’s exclusive economic zone near Seoul-controlled, Tokyo-claimed Takeshima, known as Dokdo in South Korea, which put a damper on the nascent mood for reconciliation.

By promoting dialogue with Park, Hayashi is hoping to lay the groundwork for a meeting between Kishida and current South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in the near future, which could take place in Madrid in late June when an extended gathering of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization members’ foreign ministers will be held, according to the sources.

To prepare for the potential talks, senior diplomats of the two countries could meet in Seoul in early June.

Japan maintains that wartime issues with South Korea have already been resolved. It has urged Seoul to abide by their past agreements, such as a 2015 deal that settled the issue of “comfort women,” who were procured for Japan’s wartime military brothels.

Hayashi and Park met in Seoul on the eve of Yoon’s inauguration ceremony, agreeing that the countries should not let their relations deteriorate any further, while vowing to strengthen trilateral cooperation involving the United States to deal with North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.

It was the first visit to South Korea by a Japanese foreign minister since June 2018.