Japan seeking Defense Ministers meeting with South Korea

Posted on : 2015-04-16 17:13 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Seoul has yet to issue a clear response on whether such a meeting could go ahead with Japan hardening its stance on historical issues
 January 2011. (by Park Jong-sik
January 2011. (by Park Jong-sik

Japan proposed soon holding the first bilateral Defense Ministers meeting with South Korea in four years. Since Japan has recently pursued the contradictory strategy of regressing in regard to its historical disagreements with South Korea while aggressively pushing to strengthen bilateral security cooperation, attention is focusing on how the South Korean government will respond.

During a security policy deliberative meeting with South Korea held in Seoul on Apr. 14, Japan proposed holding an early meeting of Defense Ministers.

On Apr. 10, Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani told reporters that relations between South Korea and Japan were important in regard to security, including defense against North Korean missiles, and indicated that he hopes to meet South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-koo during the IISS Asia Security Summit (Shangri-La Dialogue) in Singapore next month.

South Korea’s response to the proposal was reportedly non-committal, with officials only promising to “consider it carefully.” However, the tone was milder than at the regular press briefing at the Defense Ministry the day before, when Ministry Spokesperson Kim Min-seok flatly denied Japanese media reports that Japan and South Korea were arranging a Defense Ministers meeting for May. “We have not discussed such a meeting, nor are we planning to,” Kim told reporters.

Given the recent efforts to strengthen security cooperation between South Korea, the US, and Japan - efforts led by the US - there is speculation that the winds of change are blowing inside the South Korean government, which had been opposed to a meeting of the defense ministers.

Recently, the South Korean government has been strongly emphasizing that its foreign policy toward Japan is based on a “two-track” approach, dealing with historical disagreements separately from other issues, such as security and the economy. At least on a theoretical level, then, a meeting of the South Korean and Japanese Defense Ministers is feasible.

The problem is that Japan has been intensifying its historical and territorial provocations. Under these circumstances, it would not be easy to win public support for discussing sensitive security issues with Japan in the high-level framework of a meeting between Defense Ministers. Furthermore, it is likely that China and other countries in the area would respond negatively to such a meeting.

Taking into account all of these factors, some argue that the South Korean government should continue to cooperate with Japan on ordinary matters that are unrelated to historical issues. But for more sensitive meetings such as a meeting between Defense Ministers, the decision should be delayed Japan adequately reflects on its past behavior, they say.

 

By Gil Yun-hyung, Tokyo correspondent and Kim Oi-hyun, staff reporter

 

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

 

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