SOUTH KOREA-Tokyo, Seoul Pledge To Improve Relations Under Yoon Admin

A delegation from South Korean President-Elect Yoon Suk-yeol's team met with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Monday with both sides pledging to improve bilateral relations following a deterioration in recent years. There will be hopes not only in both capitals but also Washington, D.C. that the gov'ts of Yoon and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida can “maintain and beef up” Japan-South Korean links, which is what Chung Jin-suk, the delegation head and deputy speaker of the National Assembly, said was the intention of the trip.

• Yoon has stated that he wants relations between the two nations to be 'future oriented'. The victory for conservative Yoon in the March presidential election should see Seoul's policy towards China and North Korea fall more into line with the hawkish stance of Japan and the US. However, relations in the past have been marred by continued disagreement over Japan's wartime actions in Korea.
• Should South Korea and Japan be able to improve bilateral ties it would come as a boost to US President Joe Biden, who is set to visit both nations in late-May. While both Asian nations are close military allies, the tensions between the two has hindered cooperation and the ability of the US-aligned nations to present a united front against Beijing.