South Korea and Japan: A ‘milestone’ meeting of frenemies

The recent summit between South Korea and Japan, held on December 2019, offers an opportunity to restore long-broken trust between the two nations. In the lead-up to the summit, Seoul had already made several concessions, such as agreeing to formal talks and a proposed idea of a “future-oriented relationship” between the two nations. However, Seoul’s expectations were high, and it had hoped for more progress from Tokyo.

Despite these hopes, the meeting ended in a mutual agreement to improve ties further, and both nations took steps towards this. Japan agreed to continue formal dialogue and investigations into forced labour during World War II, an issue that has long been a point of contention between Tokyo and Seoul. In addition, the summit led to the two nations agreeing to work together to reduce cybersecurity risks in the future.

However, although Korea has made steps towards improving ties with Japan, with many concessions already made, it still expects more from Tokyo. South Korea hopes to receive acknowledgment and recognition from the Japanese government that it did wrong during the war and attempts to rectify it. Seoul also expects Japan to make more significant concessions, such as removing its trade restrictions against South Korea, which occurred during mid-2019.

Overall, although the two nations have made progress in improving ties, much still needs to be addressed before trust between Japan and South Korea can be fully restored. While both sides have made concessions and agreed to take steps towards future cooperation, Seoul has high expectations and hopes to receive significant concessions from Tokyo in the future. As such, it remains crucial for Japan to make significant progress in addressing its past behaviour, something that will undoubtedly take time and continued dialogue.



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