Japan-Republic of Korea Relations
Japan-ROK Foreign Ministers’ Meeting
On August 2, commencing at about 5:40 p.m. (local time) for approximately 35 minutes, Mr. Taro Kono, Minister for Foreign Affairs, who is visiting Singapore to attend ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings, held a Japan-Republic of Korea (ROK) Foreign Ministers’ meeting with H. E. Dr. Kang Kyung-wha, minister of Foreign Affairs of the ROK, who is also visiting Singapore. The overview of the meeting is as follows.
1. The two foreign ministers held an honest exchange of views with regard to how to give a boost to the Japan-ROK relationship towards the 20th anniversary of the Japan-Republic of Korea Joint Declaration in October this year. Based on the basic position that the steady implementation of the Japan-ROK agreement on the comfort women issue is important, Minister Kono raised the comfort women issue, along with reiterating Japan’s fundamental position on the “requisitioned workers” issue. Furthermore, the two foreign ministers confirmed that they will move forward with the cooperation to build future-oriented relations while appropriately managing difficult issues between Japan and the ROK.
2. With regard to the issue of North Korea, the two foreign ministers confirmed that they will closely coordinate their future responses, and Japan and the ROK, and Japan, the ROK and the United States will continue to work closely together, and that they will cooperate in order to urge North Korea to take concrete actions towards the full implementation of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions. In addition, the two foreign ministers confirmed that it is important to maintain the measures based on the UNSC resolutions.