It is expected that ministerial and vice-ministerial level consultations will soon be held one after another for the biggest pending issue between Korea and Japan, a solution to compensation for victims of forced labor during the Japanese occupation.
According to multiple diplomatic sources on the 1st, First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun-dong will hold face-to-face discussions with Takeo Mori, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, on the occasion of attending a ‘multilateral conference’ to be held in a third country in the middle of this month.
This ‘multilateral meeting’ is currently undergoing detailed coordination among the participating countries regarding the schedule and venue, and an official announcement at each country level is expected to be made soon.
Vice Minister Cho and Vice Minister Mori also held bilateral talks as an opportunity to attend the Korea-US-Japan Foreign Ministers’ Conference held in Tokyo, Japan in October last year. At the time, the most important agenda at the Korea-Japan Vice Foreign Ministers’ Meeting was the resolution of compensation for the victims of forced labor.
After South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposed a so-called “third-party reimbursement” plan last month, South Korean and Japanese diplomatic authorities have been speeding up discussions on how to compensate for forced labor by holding working-level consultations on two occasions, traveling back and forth between Tokyo and Seoul.
Diplomats in this regard believe that the two countries will soon try to make final adjustments on key issues through talks between vice ministers and ministers.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, on behalf of Japanese companies (Nippon Steel and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries), which received a “compensation for damages from forced labor” by the Supreme Court in 2018, the public institution under the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, “The Foundation for Supporting Victims of Forced Mobilization in Japan,” paid compensation. However, the plan has been proposed to Japan that the funds will be appropriated by Korean and Japanese companies.
The Japanese government stated that it could not accept the Supreme Court ruling, saying, “The issue of compensation for damages from forced labor was resolved through economic cooperation worth a total of 500 million dollars in loans and loans provided to the Korean government at the time of the signing of the Korea-Japan Claims Settlement Agreement in 1965.” As much as it is revealed, the Korean government is looking for a way to ‘circumvent’ this.
However, considering that the victims’ side has presented ‘Japan’s sincere apology and participation in compensation’ as a precondition for resolving the issue of compensation for the victims of forced labor, the Korean government has requested that the Japanese side inform the victims of this position and respond accordingly. .
In the midst of this, in relation to the issue of ‘apology’, such as the ‘Murayama Statement’ in 1995, in which Japan mentioned apology and reflection on past historical issues between Korea and Japan, “the historical awareness of previous cabinets has been changed by the current cabinet of Fumio Kishida.” It is said that a significant part of the strand has been caught in the direction of revealing the position that it is also maintained and inherited.
However, it is known that the Japanese side still expresses disapproval of the issue of direct participation by Japanese companies, especially the defendant companies, in raising funds for compensation.
An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said after the Korea-Japan director-general-level consultations held in Seoul on the 30th of last month, “In the end, key issues require high-level discussions.”
After the Korea-Japan foreign ministers’ meeting, there is a possibility that a Korea-Japan foreign ministers’ meeting will be held on the occasion of the Munich Security Conference (MSC) to be held in Germany from the 17th to the 19th of this month. There is a possibility that both Foreign Minister Park Jin and Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa will attend this MSC.
Speaking to reporters about the possibility of a Korea-Japan foreign ministers’ meeting on the occasion of the MSC, Minister Park said, “It has not yet been confirmed who will attend,” but added, “If the Japanese foreign minister attends, there will be a natural opportunity to meet. There will be,” he replied.
In the midst of this, there are mixed expectations from inside and outside the government that if discussions between the South Korean and Japanese vice foreign ministers and ministers on a solution to compensation for forced labor are carried out smoothly, this could lead to a summit meeting.
Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to meet directly with the victims of forced labor and their bereaved families who won the case against Nippon Steel and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries through the final ruling of the Supreme Court in 2018 to hear their opinions on the contents of the discussions between Korea and Japan.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.