South Korean president Lee jae-ming held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Hajime Takashi in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, Yonhap News Agency said Sunday. The two sides held talks on supply chain stability, energy security and the regional situation. However, due to historical issues and Japan’s“Re-armed” controversy, the talks sparked protests in South Korea.
The meeting between Lee jae-ming and Takashi Zamyo on the 19th was the sixth meeting between the leaders of South Korea and Japan since the establishment of Lee jae-ming’s government. “Hometown diplomacy” became a key word in the talks. In January, Li Zaiming visited Kaohsiung’s hometown of Nara. Kaohsiung’s visit to Andong is seen by Korean media as an official return visit and the first time that leaders of the two countries have visited each other’s hometown. The two sides focused on energy and supply chain cooperation in the context of the escalating situation in the Middle East and met reporters together after the meeting.
Lee said the recent situation in the Middle East led to global energy and supply chain market instability, South Korea and Japan need to strengthen cooperation. The two sides decided to expand cooperation on the basis of the bilateral key minerals and supply chain partnership agreement signed in March this year and strengthen coordination in the liquefied natural gas and crude oil sectors, and deepen information sharing and communication on crude oil reserves. Kobayashi suggested that South Korea and Japan should work together with other Asian countries suffering from supply chain crises. Both sides also reiterated that rok-japan and rok-us-japan cooperation is of great significance to regional peace and stability.
There are a lot of domestic oppositions to the visit of Kaohsiung. South Korean online media“Unification News” said that a number of civic groups held a rally in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, on the 18th to oppose the expansion of south korea-japan military cooperation, they also criticized the Japanese government for“Distorting history” and“Promoting military rearmament.”. Some people warned that South Korea, the United States and Japan may increase military cooperation in northeast Asia tensions, asked the South Korean government not to“Repeat the previous government’s line on Japan.”.
According to Yonhap news agency reported that the day of the talks, Daegu Airport and near the venue of the Andong talks have citizen groups held a press conference, condemning Takashi early seedlings“Deny the responsibility of Japanese colonial rule, threats to peace in East Asia.”. Changsheng coal mine victims related groups also demanded that Japan disclose the specific timetable for DNA identification, and criticized the Japanese side had promised“No substantial progress so far.”.