S. Korean ambassador to Japan seeks to resume S. Korea-Japan summit talk

There is a growing attention to the reason South Korean Ambassador to Japan Nam Gwan-pyo who announced to work on resuming a summit talk between South Korea and Japan.

The Tokyo Shimbun reported on Friday that Nam visited the newspaper’s headquarters the previous day. He said that Japan’s retaliatory measure against Korea only damages the bilateral relationship and that the majority in South Korea hope the two countries to resolve the issue smoothly, according to the newspaper. The South Korean ambassador vowed to make efforts to resume summit talk between Seoul and Tokyo, the newspaper reported.

It is interpreted that the South Korean government continues to endeavor to resolve the seemingly destructive power struggle, given that the former national security official at Cheong Wa Dae mentioned a possibility of a summit talk.

South Korean presidential office Cheong Wa Dae is seemingly trying to come up with diplomatic solutions behind the scenes although it stands toe-to-toe, having said at a National Security Council meeting the previous day that the export regulatory measure by Japan clearly violates international law and intends to retaliate.

Regarding the ambassador’s remark, a Cheong Wa Dae official said Friday that Nam is working to improve the bilateral relationship, while related authorities including the Policy Office of Cheong Wa Dae, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy are helping prevent Korean businesses from having difficulties. Asked if Seoul takes the two-track approach of dialogue and stringency, the Cheong Wa Dae official answered that each player seeks to find their optimal ways to solve the problem.


Sang-Jun Han alwaysj@donga.com