South Korea’s Lee to head for Japan summit a week after meeting China’s Xi

SEOUL - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is

set for a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi

on Jan 13, a week after one with Chinese President Xi Jinping, as Seoul seeks to balance ties with both neighbours.

The summit in Japan’s Nara City comes amid a growing diplomatic dispute between Beijing and Tokyo, and analysts expect Ms Takaichi to highlight the stability of three-way ties between the United States, Japan and South Korea.

Mr Lee has taken an approach of “pragmatic diplomacy” in seeking to balance ties with China and Japan, which could make it easier to reach pacts in business fields such as AI. 

“Historically, disputes between China and Japan go on for a long time,” said a Japanese studies professor at South Korea’s Sungkonghoe University, Professor Yang Kee-ho.

“It is very likely that the Sino-Japanese relationship will deteriorate throughout (Ms Takaichi’s) term in office.” 

Beijing was

infuriated after Ms Takaichi said in November

that a Chinese attack on democratically governed Taiwan could be deemed an existential threat to Japan, which could trigger a military response from Tokyo.

China regards Taiwan as part of its territory, a claim the island’s government rejects.

In the face of the tension with China, Japan may seek to bolster diplomatic ties with South Korea, possibly through a strategic partnership, said another Japan expert at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Professor Lee Chang-min.

“Not only has Japan’s relationship with China deteriorated, (but) the United States has also put a little distance from Japan in its (Taiwan) stance,” said Prof Lee.

South Korea’s President Lee and Ms Takaichi may discuss the Japan-China dispute during their meeting, Mr Lee’s security adviser Wi Sung-lac said on Jan 11. However, South Korea is unlikely to take sides, analysts said. 

“Our relationship with Japan is as important as our relationship with China,” Mr Lee told reporters during his state visit to China last week.

North Korea issues

Perennial concerns, such as the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and the fate of Japanese nationals abducted by neighbouring North Korea, are also expected to figure on the agenda. 

However, analysts said the areas offering the easiest scope for concrete agreements may lie in business, such as cooperation in AI and chips, and easing travel for business executives between the countries. 

The two leaders are expected to extensively discuss “areas directly related to people’s livelihoods... such as intellectual property and AI”, Mr Wi said. 

The summit in Ms Takaichi’s home prefecture of Nara also offers Mr Lee an opportunity to take up issues of regional cooperation, as part of a pledge to spur development in areas outside Seoul. 

Ties are still plagued by longstanding tension on topics such as Japan’s colonisation of Korea, including the treatment of South Korean women forced to work in its wartime military brothels.

Such historical issues have moved from the centre stage of relations for now, analysts said, though some in South Korea still want them to stay high on the agenda.

Mr Lee’s two-day visit to Japan, shorter than his four-day trip to China, is part of “shuttle diplomacy” efforts that the two countries agreed in 2025.

Even if the trip has no tangible outcome, said Prof Yang, “The most important thing is to keep the shuttle meetings going... and eventually reaching concrete results.” REUTERS