South Korea and Japan – Getting along better but there’s a need to pay attention

Officials from America, South Korea and Japan met in Nagano, Japan in mid-July to discuss a response to North Korea‘s recent intercontinental ballistic missile test. This is the latest example of South Korea warming up to Japan. It comes after the deep freeze of the Moon Jae In presidency.

An acquaintance asked what this meeting tells us about the South Korea–Japan relationship. And in particular, whether Seoul and Tokyo have put historic and territorial disputes behind them?

Here’s what I told him.

Three Parties in Nagano

The meeting in Nagano regarding North Korea is further evidence that South Korea has at least put historic and territorial issues on the back burner. Such things never completely go away.

The Japanese have been more willing to overlook past history. Meanwhile, the Koreans – seeing themselves as the perpetually aggrieved party, have found it difficult to “let it go.”

However, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol is showing impressive statesmanship since taking office in March 2022. He has tamped down anti-Japanese resentments while prioritizing what he considers South Korea’s broader national interests. Those interests are underpinned by the Republic of Korea-United States alliance.

Yoon is bringing South Korea back to closer and friendlier ties with Japan. And into something of a three-way security tie-up with the United States.

The Americans have wanted this for a long time.

Progress From the Moon Years

This is a major change from just a couple of years ago when then-President Moon Jae In stoked and wielded anti-Japan sentiments in South Korea for political gain – even accusing the conservative opposition of being Japanese stooges.

In the process, he drove South Korea – Japan relations to the lowest point in recent memory. Meanwhile, he irked his erstwhile ally, the United States. Any real cooperation from Seoul with the Japanese on defense matters was out of the question – beyond the most grudging that Washington could force on South Korea.

Moon was also not particularly friendly towards the United States – despite superficial performances to the contrary.

Indeed, Moon and his closest associates were accused, and not without reason, of being pro-China and even pro-North Korea. Many of the legislators in Moon’s party were similarly inclined. That was even though within the South Korean public writ large there was no great love for China or for North Korea. And ironically, opinion polls regularly showed overwhelming support for the South Kroea-US alliance and the American military presence as well.

So one sees the difficulty the Americans faced in their long-standing efforts to build Japan-South Korea ties. That includes trying to create a trilateral approach to dealing with North Korean threats. And although not explicitly stated, the Chinese threat as well.