[Epoch Times, June 10, 2021](Epoch Times reporter Wu Huanxin reported in Hong Kong) At the upcoming G7 summit in the UK, can Japan and South Korea get rid of their previous suspicions and return to the close of the shutdown. The United States, Japan and South Korea summit in 2015 attracted much attention from outsiders.
The G7 summit will be held in Cornwall, UK from the 11th to the 13th of this month. The presidency of the United Kingdom also invited South Korea, Australia, India and other countries to participate. Whether the relationship between Japan and South Korea can be eased as a result has become one of the focuses of people’s attention.
South Korea and Japan have a painful history, including South Korean comfort women during World War II, forced conscription of South Korean labor, and Dokdo territories, which caused the Korean people to reject Japan in terms of national sentiment.
After Moon Jae-in came to power in 2018, the relationship between the two countries deteriorated, and in 2019 it developed into a tit-for-tat trade dispute. South Korea even reduced its description of Japan from a “partner” to a “neighboring country” in the “2020 National Defense White Paper”.
Under such circumstances, in response to the South Korean government’s willingness to participate in the summit meeting of the United States, Japan and South Korea, Shin Beom-chul, director of the Center for Foreign Affairs and Security of the Korea Economic and Social Research Institute, told The Epoch Times that he believes that “the possibility is very high. High. Because under the tone of mutual cooperation between the United States and South Korea, President Moon Jae-in will participate in accordance with the requirements of the Biden administration.”
He further explained, “What Moon Jae-in attaches the most importance to the relationship between South Korea and North Korea. In order to enable the United States to cooperate with South Korea on the North Korean issue, the US-led summit meeting between the United States, Japan and South Korea will be followed by President Moon Jae-in. .”
However, Shin Bumcheol believes that South Korea and Japan will not change the antagonistic relationship all at once. “There are many problems. In addition to the forced conquest of South Korean labor during World War II, there are also continuous issues such as Dokdo territorial disputes. There is still a long way to go. However, they must be resolved.”
According to the Chosun Ilbo reported on June 4, in order to effectively contain China and respond to the North Korean nuclear issue, the United States has made the normalization of the three-nation cooperation system between South Korea, the United States and Japan a diplomatic priority. The first and second face-to-face summit meetings after U.S. President Biden took office were the heads of Japan and South Korea, for the same reason.
The report also revealed that the South Korean government believes that the tripartite cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan will help restart the peace process on the Korean Peninsula, and there is consensus on the necessity of holding the three-nation summit.
However, in Japan, the attitude does not seem to be very positive. Japan’s Kyodo News quoted a number of Japanese government sources on June 5 as revealing that due to historical issues, South Korea has not put forward an effective plan to break the deadlock, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga believes that the environment for holding dialogue is not yet perfect. Even for a short period of time, the negative argument that there is no need to respond is deeply ingrained in the government.
But the United States is open to this. On the 7th of this month, Jake Sullivan, the U.S. National Security Adviser, said at a press conference: “We currently have no arrangements for the trilateral (talks) between the United States, Japan and South Korea. But I’m telling you that In this small space, almost anything can happen…”@
Editor in charge: Chen Wenqi
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