South Korea, pictured here during an exercise with US forces, is looking for new allies in the region.
(Photo: dpa)
Tokyo South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol did not shy away from offending many voters on the day of the independence movement. As the nation Wednesday commemorated an uprising against the Japanese occupiers in 1919, he referred to the former occupier as a “partner.”
Japan has “transformed from a militaristic aggressor of the past into a partner who shares the same universal values with us,” Yoon said in a commemorative speech.
These words stand for a possible turning point in the difficult relations between the two neighbors and US allies. His predecessor Moon Jae In would hardly have uttered this term for Japan. Under the government of left-wing politician and then right-wing Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, relations were almost frozen.
The trigger was an escalation in the long-standing dispute over historical issues from the time of the Japanese annexation of Korea (1910-1945). This included the fate of the war prostitutes known as “comfort women” and Korean forced laborers for Japanese corporations. Moon emphasized them while Abe tried to push the dark sides of his own story out of public memory.
Conservative Yoon is now trying to sideline these issues so that neighbors can face together common geopolitical challenges — most notably the threat of North Korea’s nuclear weapons and China’s growing military might. Since taking office in May 2022, Yoon has been searching for a solution to a thorny legal dilemma that could permanently damage relations.
Geopolitics beats history dispute
Korean courts had awarded compensation to South Koreans who had been forcibly recruited to work for Japanese companies during World War II. This alone was seen in Japan as a breach of international law. Because the Japanese government insists on the wording of the basic agreement between the two countries from 1965, according to which all claims for compensation were settled with the payments made by Japan at the time.
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The issue ultimately turned into a deep diplomatic crisis as courts ordered the confiscation of assets from the affected companies. From the Japanese point of view, if the assets were to be auctioned off, the basis of bilateral relations would be destroyed. Yoon is now trying to prevent this by proposing a compensation fund to be fed by the companies.
There is no final solution yet. Nevertheless, Yoon resumes cooperation with Japan in many areas. Militarily, both sides are expanding their cooperation. Just last month, following a North Korean missile test, they held a joint missile defense naval maneuver in regional waters with the United States. Previously, they had preferred to meet for exercises on American territory.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife celebrate the national heroes of an independence movement in 1919 against the Japanese occupiers at a memorial service.
(Photo: AP)
Seoul and Tokyo hope to work together to deter China from military aggression such as an invasion of Taiwan. However, relaxation is also a long-cherished wish of the USA, which only maintains bilateral security alliances with both countries. Closer cooperation between the neighbors would shift the military balance of power with China in East Asia in favor of the United States.
South Korea, Japan and the United States hold tripartite talks
According to their own statements, the three partners held their first trilateral talks on economic security on Tuesday. Yoon, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and US President Joe Biden decided to hold these meetings in November 2022 in order to work together on key technologies such as quantum and space technology and supply chains for semiconductors, batteries and critical minerals, among other things.
In addition, the three governments also want to discuss how to counter economic sanctions. What is meant is China, which in recent years has already hit Japan and South Korea with trade sanctions when these countries did something politically that the Chinese leadership disliked.
Yoon courted approval with a reference to the story. “If we fail to recognize the changing trends in world history and adequately prepare for the future, the disasters of the past will repeat themselves,” he said, referring to the annexation of Korea.
It remains to be seen whether the politically divided population will support this course. Domestically, foreign policy relations with the neighbor continue to play an important role in the struggle between the Left Democrats and Yoon’s People’s Power Party. Dozens of Koreans on Wednesday demanded that Yoon’s government stop negotiations with Japan over compensation for forced laborers outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul.
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