'Forced Labor and Export Controls' Again Confirmed Only Principles Between Korea and Japan

Minister Kang Kyung-wha Holds Talks with Foreign Minister Motegi... Both Sides Stubbornly Fail to Find Common Ground
Private Meeting for 5 Minutes After Removing Attendants

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[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Kang Kyung-wha, Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Korea, who visited the United States for talks with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, engaged in a South Korea-U.S.-Japan foreign ministers' meeting followed by a South Korea-Japan foreign ministers' meeting, but ultimately failed to find common ground. Even at the director-general level meeting held prior to the South Korea-Japan foreign ministers' meeting, the principles of both countries clashed sharply.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 15th, on the 14th (local time), Minister Kang held a bilateral meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu at the Four Seasons Hotel in Palo Alto near San Francisco, exchanging mutual interests and positions. Key agenda items at the meeting reportedly included the issue of cashing in on the assets of Japanese companies seized following the South Korean Supreme Court's ruling on forced labor compensation during the Japanese colonial period last year, Japan's export restrictions against South Korea, and the termination of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) between South Korea and Japan. At the end of the meeting, Minister Kang dismissed all attendees and held a private meeting with Foreign Minister Motegi for about five minutes.

Minister Kang reiterated the position that Japan's export restrictions must be lifted promptly and urged that substantial progress be made through dialogue between export authorities. In response, Foreign Minister Motegi reportedly repeated Japan's previously stated position. The South Korean government's stance that GSOMIA cannot be extended without lifting export restrictions and the Japanese government's position that the 1965 South Korea-Japan Claims Agreement must be upheld continued in this meeting as well.

Outside the South Korea-Japan foreign ministers' meeting, verbal confrontations persisted. Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs repeatedly claimed "violation of the agreement" whenever the South Korean government expressed the position that a solution should be found with the consent of the victims of forced labor during the Japanese colonial period.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide rebutted regarding President Moon Jae-in's New Year's press conference call for lifting export restrictions, stating, "As we have repeatedly said about the issue of former Korean Peninsula laborers, our position remains unchanged in strongly demanding that South Korea rectify the violation of international law." Regarding President Moon's New Year's address on the 7th, Suga also mentioned, "We will continue to demand wise responses from the South Korean side."

Furthermore, the Japanese government sharply rejected the proposal to establish a "South Korea-Japan Joint Consultative Body" suggested by South Korean and Japanese lawyers to resolve the forced labor compensation issue, saying they are "not interested at all." On the 6th, lawyers and civic groups supporting forced labor victims held press conferences in both South Korea and Japan, proposing the creation of a joint consultative body to examine solutions to the forced labor issue. This was notable as it was the first time the victims' side proposed a solution, but the Japanese government rejected even this.

However, some view the five-minute private meeting between Minister Kang and Foreign Minister Motegi on that day with hope. There is speculation that a clever plan to improve the complicated South Korea-Japan issues may have been discussed. A diplomatic source explained, "Unless fundamental discussions related to forced labor are held, it seems practically difficult to comprehensively resolve Japan's export restrictions and the GSOMIA extension issue linked to it," adding, "Creative solutions that find indirect ways to address issues case by case are necessary."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.