Japanese Media: "Coordination Towards Not Holding South Korea-Japan Summit During UN General Assembly"

President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Tae-min] On the 18th, the Sankei Shimbun reported, citing multiple government officials, that the Japanese government is coordinating not to hold an official Korea-Japan summit meeting on the occasion of the United Nations General Assembly.

Earlier, the South Korean presidential office announced on the 15th that the two countries had agreed to hold a summit meeting between President Yoon Seok-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio during the UN General Assembly in New York on the 20th-21st, and were coordinating the schedule.

The Sankei reported that the Japanese side protested to the Korean side that this announcement was not true. The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs protested, saying, "It concerns the trust relationship. Please refrain from announcements not based on facts."

The Sankei stated, "The Japanese side is cautious about responding to a summit meeting without progress on the so-called forced laborer (the Japanese term for Korean forced laborers during Japanese colonial rule) lawsuit issue," but predicted that the two leaders might have a brief standing conversation at the UN General Assembly.

The Mainichi Shimbun also reported on the same day that "the Korea-Japan summit meeting announced by the South Korean government is uncertain to be realized as the Japanese side maintains a cautious stance."

The newspaper said that within the Japanese government, there is backlash calling the South Korean government's announcement "groundless," and even if contact between the Korea-Japan leaders occurs during the UN General Assembly, it is expected to be limited to a brief standing conversation.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Kishida will depart from Tokyo Haneda Airport to New York on a chartered plane on the 19th to attend the UN General Assembly. According to Mainichi, Kishida plans to appeal for UN reform in his speech at the General Assembly, triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

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