President Moon, Visit to Japan on Occasion of Tokyo Olympics? ... Ministry of Foreign Affairs "Open to Dialogue"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Lee Ji-eun and Cho Hyun-ui] Japanese media reported that South Korea and Japan are coordinating a plan for President Moon Jae-in to visit Japan and hold a Korea-Japan summit meeting in conjunction with the Tokyo Olympics opening on the 23rd of next month. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it "cannot confirm" the authenticity of the report but maintained that it is still open to dialogue with the Japanese side.

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official said on the 15th, "Our government maintains the basic position of being open to dialogue with Japan." On the same day, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported that the Korean side conveyed President Moon's intention to visit Japan as a "return gesture for Pyeongchang" through diplomatic channels, and that they are considering holding a Korea-Japan summit meeting on this occasion. The "return gesture for Pyeongchang" refers to then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in February 2018. At that time, Prime Minister Abe held a bilateral meeting with President Moon.

If the summit is held in conjunction with the Tokyo Olympics, it would be the first face-to-face summit since the inauguration of the Yoshihide Suga Cabinet in September last year. However, the Yomiuri Shimbun expressed skepticism about the possibility of the summit, stating that "there is no possibility that the Korean side will propose a solution to the issues of forced labor and comfort women lawsuits, which are the causes of the deterioration in Korea-Japan relations." President Moon and Prime Minister Suga had planned to hold a meeting during the G7 summit held in the UK from the 11th to the 13th (local time), but it was canceled unilaterally by the Japanese government, resulting in a failure to meet.

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