President Moon's First Call with Japan's Kishida: "Forced Labor Issue to Be Resolved Diplomatically" (Comprehensive)

Kishida "Calls for Appropriate Response to Comfort Women and Forced Labor Issues"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] President Moon Jae-in held his first phone call with Japan's new Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on the 15th and expressed the intention to seek a diplomatic solution regarding the forced labor issue.

President Moon congratulated Prime Minister Kishida on his inauguration during a call that lasted about 30 minutes starting at 6:40 p.m. that day.

In the call, President Moon said, "Although the bilateral relationship is facing difficulties due to several issues, I believe that with determination and mutual efforts, we can overcome them together," diagnosing the forced labor issue as "a problem involving differing legal interpretations of the scope of application of the 1965 Korea-Japan Claims Agreement."

He added, "I believe it is desirable to seek a diplomatic solution between the two countries, and we should accelerate consultations and communication between our diplomatic authorities."

Regarding the comfort women issue, he said, "I think it is most important to find a solution that the victims can accept while not harming diplomatic relations," emphasizing, "There are only thirteen surviving victim grandmothers, so there is not much time for the two countries to resolve this."

Prime Minister Kishida explained Japan's position on the forced labor and comfort women issues. He also evaluated the frank exchange of opinions between the two leaders and stated that he would encourage accelerated communication and consultations between diplomatic authorities.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding North Korea, President Moon said, "It is necessary to quickly resume dialogue and diplomacy with North Korea to prevent the enhancement of its nuclear missile capabilities and to achieve complete denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula," adding, "I highly appreciate Prime Minister Kishida's willingness to meet Chairman Kim Jong-un directly without conditions."

In response, Prime Minister Kishida said, "North Korea's nuclear and missile activities threaten the peace and security of the region and the international community," emphasizing the importance of diplomatic efforts and expressing hope for an early resumption of North Korea-US talks. At the same time, he stressed the importance of full implementation of UN Security Council resolutions and strengthening regional deterrence.

President Moon said the Korean government would continue to pay attention to and cooperate on the issue of Japanese abductees, and Prime Minister Kishida expressed his gratitude.

Discussions also continued on Korea-Japan and Korea-US-Japan cooperation. President Moon said, "As the closest neighboring countries sharing the values of democracy and market economy, I believe we are partners who must cooperate not only for the Northeast Asian region but also for world peace and prosperity," adding, "Beyond the Korean Peninsula issue, we must jointly respond to new challenges such as the COVID-19 crisis, climate change, and global supply chain issues, and to open a hopeful future in the post-COVID era, we need to further strengthen cooperation between our two countries."

Prime Minister Kishida said, "Under the grave security situation, Korea-Japan and Korea-US-Japan cooperation is important," and expressed agreement with President Moon's remarks about developing Korea-Japan relations into a future-oriented relationship.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Additionally, President Moon stressed the importance of promptly preparing possible measures such as resuming special entry procedures to revitalize human exchanges between the two countries, and Prime Minister Kishida said they would work together to respond to COVID-19 and restore travel between Korea and Japan.

President Moon expressed hope to communicate frequently with Prime Minister Kishida and look forward to meeting in person to candidly exchange opinions on the direction of bilateral relations, and Prime Minister Kishida agreed that frank communication between the two leaders is very important.

Meanwhile, after finishing the call with President Moon, Prime Minister Kishida told reporters at the Prime Minister's Office that he requested an appropriate response from the Korean side regarding lawsuits related to forced labor during the Japanese colonial period and the issue of Japanese military comfort women.

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