청 "Korea-Japan Issues, Diplomatic Resolution is a Dignified Approach... Opportunities for Korea-US-Japan Talks Anytime" (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Park Soo-hyun, Senior Secretary for Public Communication at the Blue House, expressed regret that the significance of President Moon Jae-in’s attendance at the Group of Seven (G7) summit seems to be overshadowed solely by whether the South Korea-Japan summit takes place and the ensuing disputes surrounding it. He also stated that resolving issues between South Korea and Japan diplomatically is a dignified approach.

On the 16th, Park appeared on KBS Radio’s "Choi Kyung-young’s Strongest Current Affairs" and Yonhap News TV’s "News Focus," saying, "There are always issues to be resolved between South Korea and Japan, and there may be more in the future, but it is a dignified stance to resolve them diplomatically so that they do not become obstacles to developing South Korea-Japan relations in a future-oriented way."

Regarding the cancellation of the South Korea-Japan summit that was scheduled to take place during the G7 summit, he refrained from commenting, saying, "It is not appropriate at all for the Blue House to assign any particular meaning or confirmation to various stories exchanged between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials or Japan, for the sake of developing bilateral relations."

He added about the possibility of a South Korea-U.S.-Japan summit, "The three countries will continue to strive for contributions and development in the international community, and I believe there will be many opportunities for such meetings and that they will be realized."

Park emphasized, "It is regrettable that the very important significance of the president’s G7 and European tour seems to be reduced only to whether the South Korea-Japan summit was held and the disputes over why it did not happen. I understand that both countries made great efforts to hold the summit during this G7."

He said, "Due to the nature of multilateral meetings, it is difficult to coordinate schedules, and there are various reasons exchanged between officials. We will continue to make efforts with an open attitude for the development of both countries."

Park expressed, "Overall, I feel that South Korea’s status has completely changed since the South Korea-U.S. summit. Until then, South Korea was in a position to receive benefits from the U.S. and advanced countries, but at the South Korea-U.S. summit, we confirmed a partnership where our country contributes alongside the U.S. for the prosperity of the international community."

He cited "vaccine diplomacy" as a major achievement of attending the G7 summit and the Austria tour. Park said, "This time, I had a face-to-face meeting with the CEO of AstraZeneca, and a video meeting with the CEO of CureVac, which is on the verge of developing a new vaccine. This is very meaningful in terms of strengthening the stability of future vaccine supply."

He added, "In summary, we should note the achievement in vaccine diplomacy in that we have diversified our channels not only to the U.S. but also to Europe, in line with our plan to become a 'vaccine hub country.'"

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