Latest news with #shuttlediplomacy
Japan Times
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
South Korean president hopes to visit Japan soon
South Korea's president, Lee Jae Myung, said Thursday that he is looking to visit Japan soon in the hopes of continuing the two countries' "shuttle diplomacy," or mutual visits by their leaders. With the two nations commemorating the 60th anniversary of diplomatic normalization this year, Lee also voiced his hope that Tokyo and Seoul will release a new bilateral statement. Like the 1998 Japan-South Korea joint declaration, which called on the two countries to build a future-oriented relationship, the East Asian neighbors need to clearly define their relations, he added. He made these remarks at a news conference in Seoul to mark his first month of taking office on June 4. Lee held his first in-person meeting with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba last month on the sidelines of the summit of the Group of Seven major countries in Canada, to which the South Korean leader was invited as a guest. Lee said that he proposed to Ishiba the continuation of the shuttle diplomacy and that he hopes to reduce misunderstandings between South Korea and Japan, and promote bilateral cooperation through mutual visits and dialogue. The South Korean president said he wanted to visit Japan soon, but with the country's July 20 Upper House election just around the corner, the likelihood for his visit to take place after the poll is higher. The Dong-A Ilbo, a major South Korean daily, reported Wednesday that Lee is considering visiting Japan in late July. At Thursday's news conference, Lee also said that there are many issues on which South Korea and Japan can work together, such as security, responses to North Korea's nuclear and missile development, and the economy. As for the abductions of Japanese citizens by North Korea decades ago, Lee said the South Korean government will extend whatever cooperation it can to Japan because the anguish of the abductees and their families must be assuaged. On U.S. President Donald Trump's high tariff policy, Lee said that his administration will do its best in its negotiations with Washington to come to a mutually beneficial outcome although the talks are not easy. Lee said South Korea is preparing for North Korea's provocations by leveraging the South Korea-U.S. alliance and its collaboration with Japan, as well as by taking advantage of his country's strong defense capabilities. At the same time, the South Korean president displayed expectations to ease tensions with Pyongyang, saying he plans to resume the severed inter-Korean communication.
Japan Times
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Japan Times
South Korea's President Lee eager to visit Japan soon
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung showed his intention to visit Japan at an early date by resuming the two countries' "shuttle diplomacy," or mutual visits by their leaders, in a news conference held in Seoul on Thursday to mark a month after he took office. With the two nations commemorating this year the 60th anniversary of diplomatic normalization, Lee also voiced his hope that Tokyo and Seoul will release a new bilateral statement, following the 1998 Japan-South Korea joint declaration, which called on the two East Asian neighbors to build a future-oriented relationship. Lee, who took office June 4, held his first in-person meeting with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba later that month, on the sidelines of the summit of the Group of Seven major countries in Canada, to which the South Korean leader was invited as a guest. Lee said he himself proposed reviving the shuttle diplomacy with Japan, adding that he intended to visit Japan early but that the Japanese side became busy due to the House of Councilors election scheduled for July 20. The president expressed hope to promote dialogue with the Japanese side through repeated mutual visits in order to reduce misunderstandings and facilitate cooperation. Since his inauguration, Lee has engaged in summit diplomacy in earnest, including the participation in the summit among the G7 countries — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States plus the European Union. At the news conference, he emphasized his plan of improving ties with China and Russia in what he called practical diplomacy, in addition to advancing cooperation with Japan and the United States. On U.S. President Donald Trump's high tariff policy, Lee said that his administration will do its best in its negotiations with the U.S. side to draw a mutually beneficial result. Many South Korean presidents in the past held news conferences about 100 days after taking office. Lee chose to meet with the press a month after becoming president in the belief that he needs to communicate his administration's policy to the public early as he took office without a transition period following the ouster of his predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, over his martial law declaration.
