I want to make Korea-Japan relations the best, says Yoon

On Friday, the South Korean presidential office made an official announcement stating that there were no discussions regarding the Japanese media reports about Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida asking President Yoon Suk Yeol to implement the 2015 comfort women agreement during their summit meeting on Thursday. However, it suggested that talks could be held on the comfort women agreement between the two countries, stating, "Firstly, the position of the Democratic Party (the party that initiated the cancellation) needs to be clarified."

In a written briefing on Friday afternoon, the presidential office stated, "Neither the comfort women issue nor the Dokdo territorial dispute was discussed during the meeting between President Yoon and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida." However, earlier reports by Japanese media outlets such as Kyodo News had claimed that Kishida had brought up the implementation of the comfort women agreement and the territorial issue of Dokdo during the meeting.

"It wouldn't be appropriate to disclose every detail of the discussions during the meeting. It would be better to focus on official announcements," said an official from the presidential office to reporters on the day. "At the beginning of the Moon Jae-in administration, the measures taken almost broke the comfort women agreement. However, at the end of his term, President Moon clarified that the agreement had not been broken. It would be helpful to have clarity on the position of the Democratic Party regarding this issue."


Kyu-Jin Shin newjin@donga.com