US Deputy Assistant Secretary: "Two Months After Election, Very Important Period for Korea-Japan Relations"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Mark Lambert, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Korea and Japan, stated on the 14th (local time) that the two months from next month's South Korean presidential election to the inauguration of the new president is a very important period for Korea-Japan relations.

Deputy Assistant Secretary Lambert said at a virtual meeting jointly hosted by the Korea-US Alliance Foundation and the Korean War Veterans Association of the United States, "When South Korea and Japan do not cooperate sufficiently, the United States is less secure."

The United States hopes to restore Korea-Japan relations to strengthen the trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the United States, and Japan. Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also urged the need to improve Korea-Japan relations, saying, "We (South Korea, the United States, and Japan) need to learn how to do things as three parties that used to be natural between two."

However, Deputy Assistant Secretary Lambert mentioned that the time when the U.S. could pressure South Korea and Japan to cooperate simply because it wants to is already past, emphasizing that highlighting common interests is more appropriate.

In response to a question about whether a more formal consultation mechanism between South Korea and Japan could be established on security issues, he said, "I believe there are things we can do," stressing that trust between the two countries must be built for this purpose.

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