South Korea’s Lee to head for Japan summit a week after meeting China’s Xi

SEOUL, Jan 12 (Reuters) – South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is set for a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Tuesday, a week after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, as Seoul seeks to balance ties with both neighbours.

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Lee said the conflict between China and Japan was not desirable for regional peace, but Seoul would not meddle in the ongoing row.

“It’s clear that Chinese President Xi Jinping has a very negative view of Japan’s position on the matter of Taiwan,” Lee said during an interview with Japanese broadcaster NHK. “I think it’s a matter between China and Japan, not something we should deeply involve ourselves in or interfere with.”

BEIJING IRKED BY TAKAICHI COMMENTS ON TAIWAN

Beijing was infuriated after Takaichi said in November a Chinese attack on democratically governed Taiwan could be deemed an existential threat to Japan, which could trigger a military response from Tokyo.

China regards Taiwan as part of its territory, a claim the island’s government rejects.

In the face of the tension with China, Japan may seek to bolster diplomatic ties with South Korea, possibly through a strategic partnership, said Lee Chang-min, a Japan expert at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.

“Not only has Japan’s relationship with China deteriorated, the United States has also put a little distance from Japan in its (Taiwan) stance,” said Lee.

South Korea’s Lee and Takaichi may discuss the Japan-China dispute during their meeting, a security adviser to Lee, Wi Sung-lac said on Friday. However, South Korea is unlikely to take sides, analysts said.

NORTH KOREA ISSUES

Perennial concerns, such as the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula and the fate of Japanese nationals abducted by neighbouring North Korea are also expected to figure on the agenda.

However, analysts said the areas offering the easiest scope for concrete agreements may lie in business, such as cooperation in AI and chips, and easing travel for business executives between the countries.

The two leaders are expected to extensively discuss “areas directly related to people’s livelihoods … such as intellectual property and AI,” Wi said.

The summit in Takaichi’s home prefecture of Nara also offers Lee an opportunity to take up issues of regional cooperation, as part of a pledge to spur development in areas outside Seoul.

Such historical issues have moved from the centre stage of relations for now, analysts said, though some in South Korea still want them to stay high on the agenda.

Lee said South Korea’s long-standing ban on seafood from Japan’s Fukushima region would be a key topic discussed at the summit, though resolving the issue in the short term would be challenging due to a lack of public trust in Korea.

Lee’s two-day visit to Japan, shorter than his four-day trip to China, is part of “shuttle diplomacy” efforts that the two countries agreed last year.

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