Japan reiterates President Moon’s speech, “Korea proposes concrete alternatives”

In response to President Moon Jae-in’s speech on March 1 that he was ready to talk with the Japanese government to resolve the pending issue, the Japanese government reiterated its existing position, “I hope that Korea will take responsibility and present an alternative.”

Kato Katsunobu, Secretary of State. [로이터=뉴스1]

At a regular conference on the afternoon of the 1st, Kato Katsunobu, the secretary of the secretary, said, “I will refrain from commenting on President Moon’s individual remarks.” That is Japan’s position.

Minister Kato said, “Korea is an important neighbor, and the connection between Japan-Korea (Korea-Japan) and Japan-US-Korea (Korea-US-Japan) is important, including the North Korean issue.” “The condition worsened due to the problem of conscription (forced conscription) and comfort women,” he said. He also said, “I will strongly demand an appropriate response from Korea in order to return to sound bilateral relations.”

It can be interpreted that while responding to President Moon’s message of appeasement by mentioning that “Korea is an important neighbor”, the Korean side decided that there was no suggestion of a new alternative, so that the existing position was only revealed again.

The Japanese media also evaluated that President Moon showed a willingness to resolve the current issue, saying, “There was no new proposal.”

President Moon Jae-in is giving a commemorative address at the 102nd March 1st ceremony held at Tapgol Park in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 1st. [연합뉴스]

Kyodo News Agency, which delivered the commemorative remarks on the day as a breaking news, reported that President Moon emphasized his intention to promote cooperation with Japan separately from the historical issue, but there were no specific requests or proposals to the Japanese government.

Kyodo News Agency also added, “It is a speech without a clear message to Japan, which is asking Korea to provide a solution to Korea, as well as to former comfort women and elderly conscription workers, and there is still no prospect of breaking the situation.”

The Yomiuri Shimbun said in this year’s New Year conference that President Moon said, “It is not desirable for Korea-Japan relations to be monetized through forced execution”, but in this speech, he mentioned a solution to the problem based on victimism Reported that they did. It was diagnosed as considering some of the plaintiffs who strongly demanded compensation from Japanese companies.

Yomiuri also interpreted President Moon’s commitment to cooperate for the successful hosting of the Tokyo Olympics, saying, “The Moon Jae-in administration is making the improvement of inter-Korean relations a top priority.” .

NHK broadcast said that President Moon did not directly comment on the comfort women issue, but only repeated the existing position to resolve the issue through diplomacy. “With the President Joe Biden’s regime, which emphasizes trilateral cooperation between Japan, the United States, and Korea, It seems to be seeking cooperation from the Japanese side,” he analyzed.

Tokyo = Correspondent Lee Young-hee [email protected]