South Korean Prez Lee calls for closer cooperation with Japan amid changes in global trade

Tokyo: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung urged Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to forge closer cooperation to cope with a vortex of changes in global trade and the security order, in their first full summit before Lee is set to hold a high-stakes summit with US President Donald Trump.

Calling Japan a “neighbor that shares a front yard,” Lee expressed hope for the two countries to work together to expand cooperation in a wide range of areas, while working to minimize unnecessary conflicts.

“As the international order in trade and security is fluctuating, I believe the Republic of Korea and Japan, which share similar positions in terms of values, order and ideology, must strengthen their cooperation more than ever,” Lee said in his opening remarks, referring to South Korea by its official name.

Ishiba echoed the sentiment, underlining the importance of the closer bilateral ties and trilateral cooperation with the US.

“Strengthening cooperation among Japan, South Korea and the United States is very important,” Ishiba said. “Peace and stability will not come unless we make active efforts, and this is all the more true in such a turbulent era.”

Ishiba also thanked Lee for choosing Japan as his first bilateral destination before visiting the US.

The Saturday summit with Ishiba comes before Lee will head for Washington for summit talks with Trump, in a rare diplomatic decision for South Korean presidents, who typically choose Washington, a key defence ally, as their first diplomatic destination after taking office.

It was Lee’s second in-person meeting with Ishiba, following their encounter on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Canada in June, which Lee described as marking the resumption of “shuttle diplomacy” between the two nations’ leaders.

On security, Lee and Ishiba reaffirmed their goal for the complete denuclearization of North Korea and strengthening trilateral cooperation with the US.

“We reaffirmed our commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of permanent peace and agreed to close coordination on North Korea policy,” Lee said at a joint press briefing.

Following their talks, the two leaders issued a joint statement — the first from a bilateral summit between Seoul and Tokyo in 17 years.

According to the statement, they agreed on the need to jointly respond to North Korea’s illegal cyber activities and its growing military ties with Russia, while underscoring the importance of addressing the North’s nuclear and missile programs through dialogue and diplomacy.

The statement also said South Korea and Japan will establish a joint consultative body to tackle common challenges, such as low birthrates and aging populations, and enhance economic cooperation in advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence and hydrogen energy.

Lee called his visit to Tokyo an opportunity to solidify the foundation for “future-oriented” ties as this year marks the 60th anniversary of the normalization of the countries’ diplomatic relations.

“Korea-Japan relations simultaneously contain aspects of confrontation, cooperation and mutual tolerance. What’s important is to identify as many mutually beneficial elements as possible,” he said in the interview. “There is no need to abandon the beneficial aspects because of certain negative ones.”

The two leaders also agreed to cooperate on South Korea’s hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Gyeongju in late October and on Japan’s hosting of the next South Korea-Japan-China summit.

The talks came weeks after both countries separately struck trade deals with the US, which lowered proposed tariffs from 25 per cent to 15 per cent in exchange for large-scale investment pledges and greater market access.

As major exporters to the US, Seoul and Tokyo share key interests but also face growing pressure from Washington to increase their defense spending and contribute more to the cost of stationing American troops. Their auto and semiconductor industries also remain vulnerable to US tariff hikes.

IANS