Both of the leaders of Japan (Prime Minister Fumio Kishida) and South Korea (President Yoon Suk Yeol) have agreed to meet to restore the ever so deteriorating ties between the two countries. The deterioration of these ties are mostly due to wartime labor and territorial issues. These talks between the two leaders were described as being very “Informal” by both Tokyo and Seoul. At the meeting, both of the leaders of the countries shared concerns over the Nuclear threat that North Korea holds. Both leaders promised to enhance their cooperation with each other when it came to North Korea issues.
The article is important because it shows that both Japan and South Korea are repairing their connections to go against a common enemy, North Korea. I think this means that the region is slowly but surely putting aside their differences to reach a goal, that goal being avoiding nuclear war with North Korea. This will lastingly impact the region because it could show a shift on how both South Korea and Japan act diplomatically. I think this event happened because of the rising concern’s of nuclear war/annihilation, not just with north korea but also with Russia. I think it’s a good thing this event happened because it shows the progress in their relationship and the mending of old wounds. What I mean by that is that during WWII, Japan occupied Korea, which only ended on August 15th, 1945. In a way, those wounds are still freash but healing.
Both Korea and Japan as small Global players ( in comparison to the U.S. and China) have to deal with the hermitkingdom, North Korea. Although I can’t find IGO’s comnecting the two (other than the UN), it could be possible for the two to form one. I say this because that’s what two countries usually do when they have a problem that they can both resolve together. Another interesting part of this whole débâcle is that you can’t really sanction North Korea to get them to stop threatening nuclear war because they’ve already been sanctioned and Its still going on.