Yoon-Kishida 12th Summit
Yoon: “Let’s work together to advance bilateral relations”
Kishida “Inheriting DJ-Obuchi’s historical awareness”
Agree to cooperate for the safety of overseas nationals in case of emergency
President Yoon Seok-yeol (right) poses for a commemorative photo with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida ahead of the Korea-Japan summit at the presidential office in Yongsan on the 6th. In his opening remarks at the summit, President Yoon said, “If we join forces, we will be able to create a turning point for Korea-Japan relations to take a leap forward next year, the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations.” Presidential Press Corps
The leaders of Korea and Japan agreed to actively seek ways to simplify immigration, such as pre-entry screening, so that citizens of both countries can travel more conveniently. They also signed a memorandum of cooperation to protect the safety of overseas citizens of both countries in the event of an emergency in a third country.
President Yoon Seok-yeol held a summit meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who visited Korea on the 6th, for about 100 minutes and discussed such cooperation measures. This meeting was a farewell meeting with Prime Minister Kishida, who is due to step down at the end of this month, and is the 12th bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Kishida since President Yoon took office in May 2022.
During the meeting, President Yoon said, “The achievements I have made together with Prime Minister Kishida have been the most meaningful since I took office as President,” and “If we join forces, we will be able to create a turning point for Korea-Japan relations to take a further leap forward next year, the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations.” Prime Minister Kishida responded, “There are still difficult issues pending between our two countries, but I would like to resolve them one by one with a forward-looking attitude in parallel with the development of bilateral relations.” The Blue House explained, “President Yoon requested that Prime Minister Kishida play a role so that the next prime minister can continue the momentum of development in Korea-Japan relations, and Prime Minister Kishida gladly agreed to do so.”
Kim Tae-hyo, First Vice Director of the National Security Office, said in a briefing after the meeting, “Prime Minister Kishida confirmed that ‘regarding the issue of forced labor, I personally feel heartbroken that many people went through extremely painful and sad experiences under harsh conditions at the time. ’” Prime Minister Kishida had said this during his visit to South Korea in May of last year. Deputy Director Kim added, “(Prime Minister Kishida) once again confirmed that the Japanese government is inheriting the historical awareness of past cabinets, including the 1998 Kim Dae-jung-Obuchi Declaration (Joint Declaration of the ROK-Japan Partnership).”
As the two leaders agreed to actively seek measures to simplify immigration, it is expected that the two countries will discuss procedures such as sending immigration officers to each other’s country to establish a biometric information system in the future. An official from the Blue House said, “The Japanese Ministry of Justice has informed us that it has begun a practical review first,” and “Japan is reviewing a pre-entry screening system in order to resolve the inconvenience of Koreans waiting in long lines at Japanese immigration offices and wasting a lot of time.” If entry is possible with a simple identity verification, the time required for entry will be significantly reduced. The number of tourists traveling between the two countries exceeds 10 million annually. Prime Minister Kishida also met with reporters after the summit and said, “We agreed to begin specific reviews of ways to facilitate each other’s entry procedures in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea.”
The MOU on cooperation for the protection of overseas nationals signed that day includes cooperation items for the two countries to discuss support and cooperation for the evacuation of their nationals in the event of a crisis in a third country, and to share information and best practices on crisis management procedures, exercises, and training even in peacetime. A Japanese Foreign Ministry official told reporters after the meeting, “This is the first time Japan has signed a cooperation document like this kind of bilateral MOU.”
After the meeting, President Yoon and First Lady Kim Kun-hee had a farewell dinner with Prime Minister Kishida and First Lady Yuko at the main building of the Blue House for two hours. Prime Minister Kishida said, “Like the phrase ‘Gyeongyo World (瓊瑤世界)’, I hope that Korea and Japan will shine together in the region and the world by illuminating each other.” The Blue House explained that ‘Gyeongyo World’ is a plaque left by Park An-gi, who visited Seikenji Temple in Shizuoka Prefecture as a Joseon Tongsinsa in 1643, and means that two jade beads reflect each other.
Reporter Shin Na-ri [email protected]
Tokyo = Correspondent Lee Sang-hoon [email protected]
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2024-09-07 01:15:31