Yoon, Kishida restore ‘shuttle diplomacy’

May 08, 2023, 07:49 am

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President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shake hands at the Korea-Japan summit held at the presidential office in Yongsan, Seoul, on May 7, 2023./ Source: Yonhap

AsiaToday reporter Lee Wook-jae

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held a summit at the presidential office in Seoul on Sunday, restoring the two countries’ “shuttle diplomacy” for the first time in 12 years.

Following Yoon’s “decision” on diplomacy with Japan in March, Kishida responded to South Korea by visiting Seoul in less than two months. The two leaders began their second summit this year and decided to promote interests and expand communication between the two countries.

The summit was first held in a small group and then in an expanded format, covering issues such as security, high-tech industries, science and technology, and cooperation on youth and cultural affairs.

“It took 12 years to restore shuttle diplomacy, but it took less than two months for reciprocal visits by the two leaders,” Yoon said during the expanded summit meeting. “It confirms that the newly started Korea-Japan relationship is speeding up and moving forward,” he said.

“The current of a good change is hard to make at first, but once it is made, it often becomes the trend. I believe that the current of South Korea-Japan relations today is such,” Yoon said. “I feel a responsibility to create a good period in our bilateral relations that is even better than the good times of the past,” he added.

“The two countries should break the perception that they cannot take even a step forward for future cooperation without a complete resolution of their historical issues,” Yoon said.

“I am pleased to visit Seoul to start shuttle diplomacy in earnest,” Kishida said. “During the summit in March, we agreed to strengthen and reestablish South Korea-Japan relations, and to strengthen dialogue and cooperation,” he said. “In fact, various talks have been moving forward dynamically since then.”

The latest summit is meaningful in that the two leaders met again relatively soon. Earlier, Yoon made “decision” to visit Japan by preparing a solution to the forced labor issue, but many pointed out that Japan’s response was late. However, Kishida’s visit to South Korea in some 50 days resolved these concerns. While it indicates that Yoon’s diplomatic approach was appropriate, the summit meeting clearly confirmed the two leaders’ willingness to improve bilateral relations.

In particular, the summit is significant in that shuttle diplomacy between the two countries has been restored. Kishida is the first Japanese Prime Minister to visit Seoul in a shuttle diplomacy format since then Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda visited the South Korean capital in October 2011.

#Yoon Suk-yeol #Fumio Kishida #shuttle diplomacy #summit