Japan-Korea Foreign Ministers' Meeting to be held next week... ”Minimizing the 'leadership vacuum'” is key

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea, and a meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries will be held on the 13th of this month. There are concerns that the lack of a summit has tangled up the steps toward Japan-South Korea cooperation.
Therefore, the key will be to go beyond "maintaining the status quo" and to "minimize the vacuum." For this reason, it is expected that the two countries will first send out a "message emphasizing their strong alliance."
The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yeol and visiting Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi will hold talks on the 13th of this month."
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea, so this meeting will be extremely meaningful.
"It is very meaningful for South Korea and Japan to demonstrate their strengthened cooperation as neighboring countries in these difficult times," said a South Korean Foreign Ministry official.
As the "impeachment situation" continues, the only thing that was said was the principle of "holding the event properly."
"It's the middle of the year, so we haven't started discussions with Japan yet," said a high-ranking South Korean government official.
For this reason, the current meeting was focused on the issue of direct cooperation between Korea and Japan, rather than on the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
"In Japan, there is more doubt than trust in the current (South Korean) regime," said Nam Ki-jeong, a professor at the Institute of Japanese Studies at Seoul University.
"It seems that these things are being whispered about," he said, adding, "First of all, this summit must provide some recognition for the efforts the Korean people are making for democracy even in these difficult circumstances."