Yoon-Kishida summit to signal 'normalization' of relations

National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han gives a briefing on President Yoon Suk Yeol's two-day visit to Japan later this week at the Yonsan presidential office in central Seoul Tuesday. [NEWS1]

President Yoon Suk Yeol will make a two-day visit to Tokyo from Thursday for a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, signaling the "normalization" of relations, according to his national security adviser Tuesday.

"The two leaders will discuss measures to normalize overall Korea-Japan relations, including the implementation of a solution to the forced labor ruling issue, and exchange views on various issues," National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han said in a press briefing at the Yongsan presidential office.

"There will also be an opportunity to discuss ways to resolve policy barriers hindering economic cooperation and to deepen that cooperation between the two countries."

The visit comes after diplomatic relations between the two countries frayed in recent years over historical disputes related to Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule over Korea, namely the compensation of wartime forced labor victims, and a trade spat.

Yoon will be accompanied by first lady, Kim Keon-hee, in the "working-level visit" on his first trip to Japan since taking office in May 2022, according to the presidential office.

On his first day, Yoon is set to hold a luncheon with Korean compatriots in Tokyo.

Yoon and Kishida will hold a summit meeting later Thursday, followed by dinner.

Kim said that the summit will be an opportunity for the two leaders to "deepen their personal trust and reaffirm their commitment to developing bilateral relations."

Such confidence-building between the two leaders is expected to "have a positive impact on friendship and exchanges between the two countries' people going forward," he added.

Yoon will also meet with Japanese political figures, lawmakers, businesspeople and students during this visit.

On Friday, Yoon will meet with political figures from the Korea-Japan Parliamentarians' Union and the Korea-Japan Cooperation Committee.

He may meet with Aso Taro, vice president of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, incoming president of the parliamentarians' union.

Yoon may ask the politicians to play an active role in building Korea-Japan relations, according to Kim.

Yoon will promote economic exchanges in a Korea-Japan business roundtable scheduled for Friday lunchtime, expected to be attended by key business leaders from both countries.

Later Friday afternoon, Yoon is scheduled to give a lecture focusing on the future generations of Korea and Japan at Keio University in Tokyo.

Kim, the first lady, is also expected to have a meeting with Japanese first lady Yuko Kishida.

Yoon is expected to return to Seoul late Friday afternoon.

National Security Adviser Kim said that there could be adjustments to the schedule as the two sides continue their last-minute consultations.

"This visit to Japan signals that Korea-Japan relations, which have been strained thus far, have earnestly entered the normalization stage," said Kim. "The resumption of bilateral summit visits, which have been suspended for 12 years, will be an important milestone in improving Korea-Japan relations, which have been emphasized since the inauguration of the Yoon administration."

Yoon's Japan trip could mark a resumption of shuttle diplomacy between the two countries, which has been suspended for some 12 years.

The last Japanese prime minister to visit Seoul for a bilateral summit was Yoshihiko Noda in October 2011, and President Lee Myung-bak made a return bilateral visit to Tokyo in December 2011.

President Moon Jae-in attended the G20 summit in Osaka in June 2019. However, he did not hold a bilateral summit with then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

"Leaders of the two countries couldn't meet easily amidst the prolonged strain in Korea-Japan relations, and a vicious cycle of stagnation in bilateral relations continued," said Kim. "President Yoon's visit to Japan will serve as an important opportunity to break this vicious circle and reassess the conditions for full-blown exchanges between the two countries."

Yoon and Kishida previously met during multilateral forums, including in September 2022 in New York during the UN General Assembly and last November in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, during Asean meetings.

The two leaders could discuss a range of issues during their summit, including the forced labor compensation issue, Japan's export restrictions, the status of their intelligence-sharing pact and cooperation on North Korea.

On March 6, the Korean government announced its decision to compensate victims of Japan's wartime forced labor through a public foundation, funded by Korean companies and without set contributions from Japanese companies.

Some victims and civic groups have strongly protested, saying that this plan does not include an apology from the liable Japanese companies, nor direct compensation.

In 2018, the Korean Supreme Court ordered two Japanese companies — Nippon Steel and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries — to individually compensate the victims of forced labor during World War II.

Tokyo maintains that all compensation issues related to Japan's colonial rule over Korea were resolved through the 1965 treaty normalizing relations, and the companies refused to comply.

The Japanese government imposed export restrictions on Korea in the summer of 2019.

In response to Japan's decision to remove Korea from its so-called white list of preferred trading partners in August 2019, Korea nearly terminated the General Security of Military Information Agreement (Gsomia), its military intelligence-sharing pact with Tokyo established in 2016 and renewed annually. Later that year, the Moon Jae-in administration conditionally suspended the decision to terminate Gsomia, technically leaving open the possibility that the pact could be scrapped at any time.

The Korean Industry Ministry announced last week that it will temporarily suspend a dispute settlement process with the World Trade Organization (WTO) to protest Japan's unilateral export controls measures. This was seen as a move to allow room for consultations to remove them to make progress.

The Yoon-Kishida summit could also be an opportunity to discuss strengthening trilateral security cooperation between South Korea, Japan and the United States amid concerns over deterrence against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.

"We have been dealing with the North Korean nuclear issue within the framework of South Korea-U.S.-Japan security cooperation, and plan to continue to do so in the future," said a high-ranking presidential official Tuesday on trilateral cooperation to deter North Korea.

The official said that Gsomia is currently working well despite the near suspension in the previous administration, but added, "I believe that if South Korea-Japan relations improve, the Gsomia issue in terms of technicalities will be resolved naturally, and that there will be active discussion between South Korea and Japan at the security level in the context of Korea-U.S.-Japan security cooperation."

The official added regarding the trade spat, "Export restrictions, a return to the white list, and the WTO complaint are all intertwined, and we expect that these three issues will be naturally resolved if there is progress in consultations in any one area."

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]