S. Korea-Japan rift at G-7 meet underlines challenge for Biden

CARBIS BAY (England) • It was supposed to be another sign of President Joe Biden bringing together US allies left adrift under four years of Mr Donald Trump - the leaders of Japan and South Korea sitting down to meet at the Group of Seven (G-7) summit.

Yet Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and South Korean President Moon Jae-in failed to hold the first substantive talks between leaders of the oft-sparring neighbours since December 2019.

The pair only exchanged greetings before the start of one of the formal meetings.

Mr Suga later said there could not be progress unless Seoul changed its ways on wartime labour issues. "We are not in that environment because we cannot keep promises made between countries," he was quoted as saying by Nikkei. "The problems of former workers and the comfort women have not been resolved."

Mr Moon said on Twitter "it was regrettable" that the exchange of greetings at the G-7 could not be followed through with a meeting, adding that it could have "served as a new beginning in terms of South Korea-Japan relations".

The ongoing rift shows the difficulties Mr Biden faces in mending frayed ties between the two allies which host the bulk of America's troops in Asia and are key to securing supply chains for items in the United States' wider strategic fight against China.

The US President has also sought their help as he undertakes a new strategy to end North Korea's nuclear programme, which he has called a serious threat to America and the world.

Mr Biden has met both leaders separately at the White House in the past few months, his first two in-person summits with foreign leaders. There was talk that all three would sit down for a trilateral meeting, but that also failed to materialise.

The two sides could not even agree on why the meeting at the G-7 did not take place.

The Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency on Monday quoted an unnamed South Korean Foreign Ministry official as saying Japan broke a tentative agreement for the two leaders to have a longer meeting.

When the South Korean side tried to follow up, it received no response from Japanese officials, the report said.

That official told Yonhap that Japan did not want to talk because of Seoul's plans yesterday to hold military drills on and around islets that the Koreans call Dokdo. The region is claimed by both countries but controlled by South Korea.

Previous drills around the islands that Japan calls Takeshima have been met with protests from Tokyo and caused strains in ties.

Mr Katsunobu Kato, the Japanese government's top spokesman, denied there was any tentative agreement for a meeting, saying at a news briefing on Monday that such a report was "extremely regrettable", and added that Tokyo has called on Seoul to cancel the military exercises.

He also flatly denied a Yomiuri report saying that Mr Moon is arranging a visit to Japan for talks with Mr Suga. Mr Kato said there is "no truth" to the Japanese daily's report yesterday of a mooted summit timed to coincide with next month's Tokyo Olympics.

Whatever the situation may actually be, it is a problem that will not go away for Mr Biden soon.

BLOOMBERG