Japan, South Korea leaders vow to boost ties against nuke-armed North

KANANASKIS, Canada (AFP) — At their first face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of the G7 leaders summit in Canada, the leaders of South Korea and Japan vowed Wednesday to boost cooperation in the face of growing threats from the nuclear-armed North.

Newly-elected South Korean President Lee Jae-myung met his Japanese counterpart Shigeru Ishiba, saying he hoped the talk would mark “the beginning of a more forward-looking and improved relationship between Korea and Japan,” according to a readout from Lee’s office.

South Korea and Japan are both United States allies and economically advanced democracies, but bilateral ties have been strained by historic issues stemming from Japan’s 35-year colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, including the use of wartime sex slaves.

The neighboring countries had drawn closer under Lee’s impeached predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, who was known for his hardline stance on North Korea and for strengthening military ties with Tokyo and Washington to counter Pyongyang.

Lee, who took office this month following a snap election triggered by Yoon’s disastrous martial law attempt in December, has pledged a more conciliatory approach toward Pyongyang.

But Lee and Ishiba confirmed that Seoul, Washington and Tokyo “would continue to work closely together... on the policies toward North Korea, including on the nuclear and missile issues as well as the abductions issue,” Tokyo’s foreign ministry said in a statement.