When South Korean Prime Minister Park Jin held bilateral talks with the foreign ministers of China and Japan on the 26th, he made demands to the two countries on the situation on the peninsula and the national issue, but neither received a positive response. This is a diplomatic move taken by the ROK to promote the holding of the trilateral leaders' meeting after the successful China-Japan-ROK foreign ministers' meeting on the 25th, but the results are not ideal.
During his meeting with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Park Jin focused on discussing the situation on the Korean Peninsula. He said that the ROK hopes that the DPRK will stop its provocative acts and embark on the path of denuclearization, which is in the common interests of China and the ROK. He also hoped that the Chinese side could play a constructive role in persuading the North Korean side to "change its original intention" and not continue to launch satellites. This is part of the ROK's recent repeated pressure on China. At the beginning of this month, South Korea's ** Yoon Suk-yeol expressed his opposition to China, Russia and North Korea cooperation in an exclusive interview, believing that this is not in China's interests.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi gave a clear response to this, stressing that China-ROK friendship is a must-answer question, not an optional one. He said that China has always been a stabilizing force in Northeast Asia and has always played and will continue to play a constructive role in easing the situation on the peninsula. He also said that China will continue to actively maintain stability and promote talks on the Korean Peninsula issue and promote long-term peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. Foreign Minister Wang Yi's remarks are actually a warning to the United States and South Korea, asking them to stop sanctions and deter North Korea and create conditions for the resumption of dialogue.
When Park Jin met with Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, he made a request about the issue of compensation for the victims of the Japanese army. It is reported that during the talks, the two sides exchanged positions on the second *** claim case adjudicated by the Seoul High Court a few days ago. In this case, the court ordered the Japanese side to pay the plaintiff all the damages. This ruling has aroused strong support from the Japanese side, which has demanded that the ROK side take concrete measures to rectify its violations of international law.
During the meeting, Yoko Kamikawa reiterated Japan's position that the ROK should abide by the relevant agreements reached between the two countries, work together to restore the honor and dignity of the victims, and seek a plan for building bilateral relations oriented to the future. The South Korean side said that the two countries should put the victim at the center, respect the court's decision, and resolve the problems left over from history. The issue of the Japanese military has always been a sensitive issue affecting Japan-South Korea relations, and it is difficult to bridge the differences between the two sides on this issue.
Judging from the demands made by the ROK foreign minister to China and Japan, we can see the diplomatic predicament of the ROK. The ROK wants to maintain friendly relations with China and Japan while also expressing its position on the situation and historical issues on the peninsula, but it is often difficult to strike a balance between this. Although South Korea's request is for the sake of stabilizing the regional situation, improving bilateral relations, and preparing for the upcoming trilateral leaders' meeting, it has not received a positive response from China and Japan. The ROK should realize that in order to resolve the situation on the Korean Peninsula, it cannot rely only on China's pressure, but must face up to the DPRK's demands and stop the "arch fire".In order to resolve historical issues, we must not rely solely on the court's judgment, but must squarely face the concerns of the Japanese side and seek consensus between the two sides. Only in this way can the ROK play a greater role in the trilateral cooperation between China, Japan, and the ROK and contribute to regional peace and development.