Japan, South Korea pledge closer ties after Ishiba-Lee meeting on sidelines of G-7 summit

KANANASKIS, Alberta – South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japan’s Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba agreed to step up cooperation in their first in-person talks, in an early indication of the direction of future relations between the two countries after Mr Lee took office.

The two met on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in the Canadian Rockies on June 17, just days before the 60th anniversary of the normalisation of diplomatic ties between South Korea and Japan. 

“We are inseparable, like neighbours sharing a front yard. We may have small differences and disagreements, but I hope that we can overcome them and develop a more cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship in many ways,” Mr Lee said to Mr Ishiba, a televised broadcast showed. 

The meeting builds on

a dialogue that began with a phone call about a week ago

. Left-leaning Lee, who has been critical of Japan in the past, became President after winning a June 3 vote triggered by the ouster of his conservative predecessor.

The two leaders agreed to beef up trilateral cooperation with the US to respond to geopolitical risks including North Korean issues, and reaffirmed their commitment to shuttle diplomacy between the neighbours, a statement from the South Korean President’s office said. 

According to a statement from the Japanese government, the “two leaders affirmed that they will continue to work closely together, as well as within the trilateral framework with the US, on responding to North Korea on issues that include nuclear, missiles and abductees”.

Mr Lee planned to meet President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G-7 summit, but the talks were cancelled after the latter

cut short his trip amid the Israel-Iran conflict

. The possibility of a three-way meeting among the leaders in Canada was floated in South Korean media reports. 

The relationship between Japan and South Korea, as well as their trilateral ties with the United States, is under scrutiny given a tendency for new leaders in Seoul to walk back on progress made by predecessors, as well as interest over how the US will engage in the Indo-Pacific under Mr Trump. 

Despite his past criticism of the US and Japan, Mr Lee likely wants to emphasise continuity in relations with the two countries, at least at the start of his administration. 

On the campaign trail, he suggested a more balanced approach for Seoul going forward regarding its relations with the US and China. He called for renewed dialogue with Pyongyang.

Mr Ishiba’s predecessor Fumio Kishida and former South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol developed close ties during their time in office. That brought a thaw in relations between the two nations after lingering tensions stemming from Japan’s colonial rule over the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945. BLOOMBERG