Japan and South Korea tried to heal ties wounded by their spat over islands and Tokyo's wartime history with a leaders' summit yesterday in Seoul that also focused on the international standoff over North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told reporters that he wanted a frank exchange before heading into yesterday's meeting with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun.
"It's a waste to stop friendly ties just because there are disagreements about some things," Koizumi said head of his arrival in Seoul for a one-day visit.
PHOTO: AP
"It's important that both Japan and South Korea want to promote friendly relations for the benefit of the entire region."
Relations have chilled in recent months over Japan's renewed claim to a group of islets that are controlled by South Korea and Tokyo's approval of history textbooks that critics say gloss over Japan's brutal military occupation of much of East Asia in the 1930s and 1940s.
Koizumi's annual pilgrimages to a Tokyo war shrine that honors Japanese war dead, including convicted war criminals, have also triggered angry reactions from South Korea, China and other Asian nations that suffered atrocities at the hands of Japan's wartime troops.
Local media have said the summit between Koizumi and Roh would take place in the "worst atmosphere."
Koizumi's visit sparked the ire of small groups of protesters who gathered yesterday at the Japan-ese Embassy in downtown Seoul, far outnumbered by dozens of riot police and journalists.
Anti-Japanese protests have been a common scene there amid the recent tensions.
An Associated Press photographer saw about 15 students detained after they broke into a Japanese cultural center, but authorities gave no specific details.
Another group of demonstrators made a failed attempt to block Koizumi's motorcade on its way to meet Roh.
The Japanese leader also said he wanted to discuss how the two countries can cooperate to seek the elimination of North Korea's nuclear weapons.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il told a visiting South Korean minister last Friday that his reclusive country could end its yearlong boycott of international nuclear negotiations as soon as next month and that the North didn't need atomic weapons as long as the regime's security was assured.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS