South Korea President Moon Jae-in says Japan ties 'crucial' as leaders seek to repair damage

CHENGDU (BLOOMBERG) - South Korean President Moon Jae-in told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that cooperation between the two US allies was crucial in the face of regional security threats as the two began their first formal summit in 15 months.

Japan and South Korea "are geographically, historically, and culturally, the closest neighbours as well as the most important, mutually beneficial partners in terms of human exchanges", Mr Moon said on Tuesday (Dec 24). "Our relationship is one that cannot be made distant even if there is temporarily an uncomfortable issue."

Mr Abe told Mr Moon that he hoped to have a frank exchange of views and to improve ties, as the meeting began on the sidelines of a trilateral summit with China in the mainland city of Chengdu.

"Cooperation between Japan and South Korea, as well as among Japan, the US and South Korea is extremely important in dealing with security issues such as North Korea," Mr Abe said.

The leaders are seeking to ease a longstanding historical dispute that has hurt trade and hindered cooperation on dealing with North Korea. The event comes as Pyongyang signals it may fire a long-range missile as nuclear talks with the Trump administration stall ahead of a year-end deadline for progress set by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Ties between Japan and South Korea have plunged to new depths over the past year, in a series of disputes rooted in disagreement over whether Japan has shown sufficient contrition for its 1910-1945 occupation of the Korean Peninsula.

While prospects for any breakthrough are slim, the fact that Abe and Moon are talking is seen as a positive sign that could make it easier for them to bridge differences on simmering disputes that include Japan's export curbs on goods vital to South Korea's massive technology sector.

In a meeting just ahead of the summit, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha raised the issue of Japan's export controls with her counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi, according to a statement from South Korea's Foreign Ministry. She also rejected Japan's stance on forced labour judgments against Japanese companies, the ministry said. Mr Motegi urged South Korea to abide by international law in its approach to the issue, Japan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Mr Moon nevertheless told reporters at a joint news event earlier that he had "big" expectations for his meeting with Mr Abe, who said that North Korea's recent ballistic missile launches were a threat to regional security.

"They have come to the point of holding a summit without having patched up their differences," said Mr Makoto Abe, who researches South Korean industry at the Institute of Developing Economies near Tokyo. While both sides realise the importance of the overall relationship, "it's going to be difficult to resolve them all at once", he added.

The stand-off has damaged trade and tourism ties, with the number of South Koreans visiting Japan in November falling by almost two- thirds on the previous year, while Japan's beer exports to its neighbour collapsed to virtually zero in October.

Under pressure from the US, however, South Korea last month suspended its plan to withdraw from a military information-sharing pact with Japan. Since then, there have been hints of a potential thaw in ties.

After the two countries' trade officials met last week, Japan was reported to have relaxed some of the stricter export controls it had placed on goods sold to South Korea.

South Korea's presidential office, however, said in a statement the measures did not resolve the problem, while Japan's top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said on Monday the changes in procedures didn't amount to a relaxation of controls.

While an improvement in relations could benefit both countries, public opinion poses a barrier to compromise. The two leaders have lost support recently, and Mr Moon faces parliamentary elections in April.

An opinion poll published this week by Japan's Nikkei newspaper found 70 per cent of respondents said there was no need to hurry to improve ties with South Korea. A poll by Seoul-based Realmeter published in late November showed South Korean participation in a boycott of Japanese goods had increased to 72 per cent from 66 per cent two months earlier.