Rival parties welcomed plans Monday by President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to attend diplomatic events in each other’s capital, hoping for a breakthrough in strained bilateral ties.
Hopes for an improvement in the stymied Seoul-Tokyo ties are growing as Park is set to attend an event later in the day hosted by the Japanese Embassy in Seoul to mark the 50th anniversary of forging diplomatic ties.
Abe was also to attend a similar anniversary event to be hosted by the Korean Embassy in Tokyo in a major step to mend ties between the Northeast Asian neighbors.
“This should become an opportunity for the two countries to find a turnaround in their strained relations,” Kim Young-woo, spokesman of the ruling Saenuri Party, said, urging Park and Abe to hold a summit meeting soon.
Rep. Suh Chung-won of the ruling party, who is the South Korean side head of a South Korea-Japan lawmakers’ association, also welcomed the fence-mending moves, but stressed that the Japanese government should first settle the thorny bilateral issues of sexually enslaved Korean women by imperial Japanese soldiers during World War II.
“The core of the issue hinges on the Japanese government’s sincere apology and compensation for the comfort women,” Suh said.
“I urge the Japanese government to settle this issue quickly.”
The main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy echoed such calls, with spokesman Kim Sung-woo saying, “This opportunity should be followed by Japan’s heartfelt self-reflection and apology over history-related issues.”
NPAD Rep. Choi Jae-cheon, a member of the parliamentary committee on foreign affairs, pointed out that the two leaders’ moves displayed their willingness to fix bilateral ties.
“It is quite meaningful that they have exchanged signs of willingness to talk,” although a gap exists between them over how to do so,” Choi added. (Yonhap)
