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South Korean President Moon Jae-in gives his New Year’s address at the Blue House on Jan. 7. (Yonhap News)

South Korean President Moon Jae-in delivered a message urging the Japanese government to withdraw its export control measures in a New Year’s address on Jan. 7.

“Japan is our close neighbor. We must evolve our cooperative relationship in a more future-oriented way,” he stressed.

“Relations between our two countries will be able to develop more quickly if [Japan] withdraws its export control measures,” he said.

In his message, he called for swiftly resolving the conflict from last year and developing a future-oriented relationship as he and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe discussed during a summit in Chengdu, China, last month. In the summit with Abe on Dec. 24, Moon urged the Japanese leader to “make a decision that allows for the swift restoration of Japan’s measures to their state before July 1 [when the export controls were imposed],” and the two sides agreed in principle on a dialogue-based resolution to the issue.

Moon also emphasized the importance of efforts to upgrade relations with China. Announcing plans to “strengthen exchange and cooperation with China in various areas,” he pledged to “work to ensure further progress in South Korea-China relations with visits by President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang scheduled for this year.” Since a visit during the Park Geun-hye administration in July 2014, Xi has not returned to South Korea owing to its deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system and the restrictions imposed on South Korean imports by China in response. During a South Korea-China summit in Beijing on Dec. 23, Moon requested that Xi “visit South Korea at your earliest convenience,” which Xi said he would “actively consider.”

The Blue House is anticipating that the Chinese government’s regulations on South Korean travel and restrictions on South Korean items could be resolved if Xi and Li pay a joint visit.

“President Moon expressed his intent to improve relations with China and Japan,” a Blue House senior official said.

By Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporter

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