South Korean President Lee Jae Myung landed in Japan on Saturday for a key summit aimed at strengthening security ties between the two East Asian neighbours, ahead of his scheduled meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington on Monday.
On his first official visit to Japan since taking office in June, Lee will meet Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the premier’s residence in Tokyo to discuss bilateral ties, including closer security cooperation with the United States under a trilateral pact signed by their predecessors.
‘Disappointment And Regret’
The snap election victory of the liberal Lee – following the impeachment of conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol for declaring martial law – raised concerns in Tokyo that relations with Seoul could sour.
Lee has criticised past efforts to improve ties strained by lingering resentment over Japan’s 1910–45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
The South Korean government last week expressed “deep disappointment and regret” after Japanese officials visited a shrine in Tokyo to Japan’s war dead that many Koreans see as a symbol of Japan’s wartime aggression.
Backing Ties With Japan
So far, however, Lee has said he backs closer relations with Japan, including in his first meeting with Ishiba on the sidelines of a Group of Seven summit in Canada in June.
Despite their differences, the two US allies rely heavily on Washington to counter China’s growing regional influence. Together, they host around 80,000 US troops, dozens of American warships and hundreds of military aircraft.
Lee-Trump Meeting
In Washington, Lee and Trump are expected to discuss security concerns including China, North Korea, and Seoul’s financial contribution for US forces stationed in South Korea – something the US leader has repeatedly pressed it to increase.
Japan and South Korea also share common ground on trade, with both agreeing to 15% tariffs on US imports of their goods after Trump had threatened steeper duties.
Rubio Meets Cho
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with South Korea’s foreign minister, Cho Hyun, on Friday in Washington, and they discussed burden sharing and fair trade ahead of a planned summit between the two countries, the US Department of State said on Friday.
Rubio and Cho discussed ways to advance the alliance between the two countries “centered on a forward-looking agenda that enhances deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, increases our collective burden sharing, helps to revitalize American manufacturing, and restores fairness and reciprocity in our trade relationship,” according to the State Department’s principal deputy spokesperson, Tommy Pigott.
(With inputs from Reuters)
