President Moon's Message on Korea-Japan Cooperation... Suga Remains Silent

Suga Explains Diplomatic Policy in First Press Conference
Mentions North Korea, US, China, Russia Only, Silent on Korea
Predicts Continued Stalemate in Korea-Japan Relations After Abe

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is holding his first press conference since taking office at 9 p.m. on the 16th at the official residence.

President Moon Jae-in's message of "Korea-Japan cooperation" has been met with silence from Japan's new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, signaling a parallel trajectory in Korea-Japan relations.

On the 16th, President Moon sent a congratulatory letter to Prime Minister Suga, emphasizing the resolution of Korea-Japan issues through dialogue and urging Japan's positive response. Kang Min-seok, the Blue House spokesperson, stated at a briefing on the 16th, "The government intends to actively cooperate with Prime Minister Suga and the new cabinet to wisely overcome historical issues and strengthen practical cooperation in future-oriented and mutually beneficial ways across various fields such as economy, culture, and human exchange."

Spokesperson Kang explained, "President Moon Jae-in is ready to sit down anytime to talk and communicate with the Japanese government, which shares fundamental values and strategic interests and is geographically and culturally the closest friend, and he expects active responses from the Japanese side." This is seen as a will to resolve the extreme confrontation between Korea and Japan that has lasted for over a year, taking advantage of the departure of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who led the campaign against Korea.

However, Prime Minister Suga mentioned only North Korea, the United States, China, and Russia among the countries surrounding the Korean Peninsula, making no mention of South Korea.

At his first press conference after assuming office at the Prime Minister's Official Residence in the afternoon, Suga said, "Our goal is to conclude postwar diplomacy, and we will devote all efforts to resolving the abduction issue (of Japanese citizens by North Korea)."

He added, "We will develop policies based on the Japan-U.S. alliance," and "We want to build stable relations with several close neighbors, including China and Russia," referring to his diplomatic policy. While explaining the diplomatic direction with neighboring countries, he notably excluded South Korea.

Earlier, Suga declared that he would inherit Prime Minister Abe's key policies and said he would seek Abe's assistance, especially in diplomacy. Suga's diplomacy toward South Korea is expected to remain largely unchanged from Abe's anti-Korea stance, and the omission of South Korea in his first press conference is seen as evidence of this. This supports the view that the parallel lines in Korea-Japan relations will not narrow in the short term.

Some expect the Korea-China-Japan summit, anticipated to be held in Korea around the end of the year, to offer hope. There is speculation that a bilateral meeting between President Moon and Prime Minister Suga could become a turning point in Korea-Japan relations. However, a senior Blue House official said, "(The Suga administration) is a newly launched cabinet," and added, "We need to wait and see," withholding further comment. Due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), there is also the possibility that the summit will be held via video conference, making the situation highly variable.

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