On the 5th (local time), US President Joe Biden made a statement about the Korean government’s announcement of a solution to compensation for forced labor during the Japanese colonial period and welcomed it as “opening a groundbreaking new chapter in cooperation between the US’s closest allies.” President Biden’s statement is considered unusual as it came about an hour after Foreign Minister Park Jin’s announcement. The Biden administration has refrained from expressing its position on the issue of the past history of Korea and the United States.
In a statement, President Biden said, “President Seok-yeol Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are taking important steps to create a safer, more secure, and more prosperous future for the people of Korea and Japan.” “The United States will support the leaders of South Korea and Japan as they continue to take action based on this new understanding,” he said. did.
He also said, “I look forward to continuing to strengthen and promote trilateral relations between Korea, the U.S. and Japan,” and “As today’s announcement reminds us, we will become stronger when we stand together, and the world will become safer and more prosperous.”
The fact that President Biden immediately issued an unusual level of welcome to the announcement of a solution to compensation for forced labor was based on the judgment that the restoration of Korea-Japan relations is a key pillar of the US Indo-Pacific strategy to respond to North Korea and China. In the Indo-Pacific Strategy announced in February of last year, the Biden administration presented strengthening trilateral cooperation between Korea, the United States and Japan through the restoration of Korea-Japan relations as a key task to be achieved within 24 months.
In the first half of this year, before the 2024 presidential campaign kicks off, President Biden will hold a Korea-US summit through a state guest invitation from President Yoon, a’Quad’ summit to be held in Australia, and China at the G7 summit held in Japan. The idea is to advance a security and economic agreement for In the midst of this, the issue of forced labor between South Korea and Japan showed a clue to a solution, providing an opportunity to expand the scope of trilateral cooperation between Korea, the U.S. and Japan.
US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln also issued a separate statement following President Biden, saying, “We welcome the historic announcement from the governments of Korea and Japan.” “We applaud President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida for their courage and vision, and urge the international community to join us in supporting this important achievement,” he said.
Minister Blincoln continued, “The trilateral relationship between Korea, the United States and Japan is at the heart of the Indo-Pacific vision,” and emphasized, “We look forward to continuing cooperation with Korea and Japan, including regular trilateral dialogue, to advance world peace and security.”
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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.