South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takachi held their fourth meeting in nearly six months on Tuesday, with the two leaders promising to deepen bilateral ties.
The two countries have long had turbulent relations over issues dating back to Japan’s 35-year colonization of the Korean Peninsula before the end of World War II, but relations have recently improved.
Both Lee and Takaichi are relatively new to their jobs, having taken over last year.
What did Lee and Takaichi agree on?
After talks in Andong, Li’s hometown, the two leaders said they would step up coordination to stabilize energy supply lines and expand cooperation with other Asian partners.
“The recent instability in supply chains and energy markets resulting from the situation in the Middle East has further underlined the need for closer cooperation between our two countries,” Lee said in a joint press statement.
Takaichi said they have also launched a bilateral initiative aimed at strengthening the flexibility of energy supplies.
He said this includes increasing reserves in the Indo-Pacific region and “assessing energy security through measures such as reciprocal exchange transactions for crude oil, petroleum products and LNG”.
The two also reaffirmed their desire for stronger security coordination, including cooperation with the United States, in the face of many shared challenges.
Among other things, both Japan and South Korea feel highly vulnerable to the threat posed by North Korea’s growing nuclear arsenal and the strategic competition between the US and China.
‘Shuttle Diplomacy’ aims to deepen ties
According to Lee, there was also a pledge to step up their “shuttle diplomacy” framework, bringing a total of six meetings between the two since Lee took office.
Lee and Takaichi’s predecessors had already taken steps in 2023 to move beyond long-standing historical disputes and expand bilateral cooperation amid a more turbulent regional and global security situation.
Edited by: Dmytro Lyubenko