The leaders of South Korea and Japan met in Tokyo on Thursday. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol is on a visit to Japan on 16 and 17 March. This meeting is being described as a milestone in the difficult relations between the two countries.
Hours before the historic summit of top leaders, North Korea has launched an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM). Officials of both Japan and South Korea have confirmed the launch of this missile. The missile, which was fired on Thursday morning, fell in the sea about 1,000 km west of Japan.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has worked hard for this summit. This is the first time that a South Korean leader has been invited to Japan for such a meeting after 12 years.
Relations between the two neighbouring countries have been strained for decades. Japan ruled South Korea from 1910 until the end of World War II. Japanese soldiers forced thousands of Koreans to work in their factories and forced women into sexual slavery.
Last week, South Korea’s president dropped a demand that Japan compensate some victims of slavery. He said that instead of Japan, his country itself would work to raise funds for the victims. In doing so, he put aside the wounds of the past for the sake of the security of Northeast Asia.
After becoming the President, he decided to bring the bad relations between the two countries back on track and saw this as the cornerstone of his foreign policy.
North Korea equipped with nuclear weapons is becoming dangerous day by day. In such a situation, South Korea is sharing intelligence with Japan and at the same time the armies of both the countries are ready to work together. This will definitely benefit South Korea.
