Kishida plans to visit Yoon in South Korea before G-7

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced Tuesday that he will travel South Korea to meet with President Yoon Suk Yeol in return for his March visit to Tokyo, hoping to deepen bilateral ties before the Group of Seven summit.

Tokyo and Seoul are repairing wartime history disagreements as they increase three-way security cooperation with Washington to counter North Korea and China.

Kishida told reporters Tuesday in Ghana that he hopes to travel May 7-8 and address regional and global concerns with Yoon.

“If my South Korea visit is achieved before the G-7 summit, I expect it will be a great opportunity to give impetus to our ‘shuttle diplomacy’ and have a heart-to-heart exchange of our views on accelerating Japan-South Korea ties and drastically changing the global situation,” said Kishida, who is hosting the May 19-21 summit in Hiroshima.

Both ministries confirmed Kishida’s trip and Seoul talks later Tuesday.

Following the president’s March Tokyo visit, Yoon’s office announced that Kishida and his wife, Yuko, will make a “working visit” to South Korea. Kishida’s office indicated leaders would meet Sunday.
Since Shinzo Abe attended the Pyeongchang Olympics in February 2018, Kishida will be the first Japanese leader to visit South Korea. The presidents are expected to cooperate and address North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

Japan and South Korea aim to guarantee their relationship is on track for significant improvement before G-7, where Yoon is one of eight outreach nations. The leaders will also meet with U.S. President Joe Biden.

Washington is cooperating more with important Asian allies.

Last week in Washington, Yoon won enhanced U.S. commitment to extended nuclear deterrence, including improved intelligence sharing and nuclear submarine visits to South Korea. On Monday, Biden met with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. at the White House and reaffirmed U.S. security and “deep friendship” with the Philippines.

Since March, when Yoon’s government announced plans to use South Korean funds to pay forced laborers without Japanese contributions, relations have improved rapidly. The initiative seeks to resolve a 2018 South Korean court judgement that required Japanese corporations to compensate Korean workers for World War II abuse and forced labor.

Tokyo and Seoul have mainly resolved their trade problems since Yoon’s March visit to Japan. The finance ministers met for the first time in seven years to discuss robust supply networks amid China’s rising influence.