Will the Korea-China-Japan Joint Statement Include Efforts to Resolve Abductions?

Creating Momentum for Korea-China-Japan Cooperation Amid New Cold War Trends
Past Summits Explicitly Addressed 'Japanese Abduction' Issue
"China Has No Justification to Block Mention of Our Victims"

Attention is focused on whether the issue of abductees, detainees, and Korean War prisoners of war will be discussed at the upcoming Korea-China-Japan summit. Since past summits explicitly mentioned the efforts of the Korean and Chinese leaders regarding the issue of Japanese abductees in their joint statements, there are calls to include the need to resolve the issue of our abductees as well.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the 24th, the Korea-China-Japan summit will be held in Seoul for two days starting on the 26th. This is the first summit in four years and five months since the 8th summit in December 2019, indicating that holding this summit was not easy considering that previous summits were usually held at intervals of one to three years. Expectations are high as this summit will serve as an opportunity to create momentum for cooperation between China and the two Koreas amid the phase of Korea-US-Japan solidarity driven by the new Cold War trend. However, it is also anticipated that the issue of 'North Korean human rights,' on which only China holds a different stance in the region, will be brought to the table.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is speaking while wearing a forget-me-not badge at the Cabinet meeting held on the 26th at the Yongsan Presidential Office Building in Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The government is reportedly seeking ways to include calls for resolving the issues of abductees, detainees, and Korean War prisoners of war in the trilateral joint statement. Although China, which has positioned itself as North Korea’s 'backer,' is likely to avoid sensitive mentions, it is judged to be quite possible to reflect Korea’s issues at the same level since the joint statement from past summits already explicitly mentioned the 'resolution of the Japanese abductee issue.'

Previously, the 'Korea-China-Japan Summit Joint Declaration' announced at the 7th summit held in Tokyo, Japan, in May 2018 stated, "The leaders of Korea and China hope that the abduction issue between North Korea and Japan will be resolved promptly through dialogue." Furthermore, the 'Trilateral Joint Vision for the Next Decade' adopted at the 8th summit held in Chengdu, China, in December 2019 included the content, "The leaders of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Korea hope that the abduction issue between Japan and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea will be resolved as soon as possible through dialogue."

At the Korea-US-Japan summit held at Camp David in August last year, a statement was also released declaring, "The leaders of Korea, the US, and Japan reaffirm their joint will to strengthen cooperation to promote human rights in North Korea and to immediately resolve the issues of abductees, detainees, and unrepatriated Korean War prisoners of war." Accordingly, it is highly likely that the Japanese side will also express support for explicitly mentioning our abductee issue in this Korea-China-Japan joint statement.

Shin Hee-seok, former legal analyst at the Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG), said, "There is no logic for China and Japan to block mentioning our victims while reflecting the resolution of the Japanese abductee issue in the joint statement," and urged, "Not only should the statement include calls for resolving our abductees, detainees, and Korean War prisoners of war issues, but President Yoon Suk-yeol should also clearly raise the issue of forced repatriation of North Korean defectors in China that has continued since last year."

On the 27th, the Ministry of Unification delivered Saesongi and Myulbangcho badges to families and organizations of abductees, detainees, and Korean War prisoners of war at the Government Seoul Office. The photo shows the prepared Saesongi and Myulbangcho badges. [Image source=Yonhap News]

In the same context, there is interest in whether President Yoon Suk-yeol will appear wearing the 'Sesongi Mulmangcho' badge.

The Japanese political world always wears a badge shaped like a 'blue ribbon,' symbolizing the issue of 'Japanese abductee victims' by North Korea. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also wore this badge during his visit to Korea last year and paid respects at the National Seoul National Cemetery. The blue color of the badge symbolizes the blue sky and sea connecting Japan and North Korea, as the abductees, their families, and the Japanese people look forward to 'reunion.'

The Yoon Suk-yeol administration also created a symbol called 'Sesongi Mulmangcho' to express its wish to resolve the issues of abductees, detainees, and Korean War prisoners of war. It uses the flower language of the forget-me-not flower, meaning "Please do not forget me." A senior official from the Ministry of Unification recently told reporters, "Regarding the proposal that President Yoon wear this symbol at the upcoming summit to express his determination to resolve the issue," he responded, "We will consider it."

Meanwhile, on the same day, Minister of Unification Kim Young-ho will attend the unveiling ceremony of the monument praying for the return of abductees held at Seonyudo, Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do, together with Julie Turner, US State Department Special Envoy for North Korean Human Rights, Lee Shin-hwa, Director-General for International Cooperation on North Korean Human Rights at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and families of abductee victims. Seonyudo is the site where Kim Young-nam, a high school student at the time, was abducted by North Korean agents in August 1977. This is the first time a Minister of Unification has visited a domestic abduction site.

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