Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s talks with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol offered a fresh reminder of the importance of dialogue between the leaders of the countries with deeply strained ties fraught with sticky issues.

The two leaders should work responsibly to use this first step to launch a full-scale diplomatic effort to repair the bilateral relationship through repeated talks.

Kishida and Yoon met in New York on Sept. 21 where they were attending the U.N. General Assembly session.

It was the first face-to-face talks of the Japanese and South Korean leaders in about three years and the first between Kishida and Yoon.

Oddly, however, the two governments characterized what took place in New York differently. The Japanese government described what the two leaders did together was “kondan” (a chat) not “kaidan” (a meeting), while the South Korean administration claimed it was a kaidan, albeit an informal one.

The two governments apparently disagreed on how to describe the major diplomatic event in which the leaders talked for 30 minutes. This is childish and deplorable.

Behind this semantic discord is the touchy bilateral issue of compensation for former Korean wartime laborers, known as “choyoko” (drafted workers). In South Korea, the legal process of selling off Japanese corporate assets to pay compensation to former Korean wartime laborers is under way.

The Japanese government has refused to hold a bilateral summit until Seoul makes a viable and effective proposal to avert the diplomatic crisis that the liquidation of Japanese assets would trigger.

Although the Kishida administration has shown a willingness to take steps to improve Tokyo’s relationship with Seoul, it apparently is not ready to recognize any contact between the two leaders as kaidan before receiving a specific proposal to settle the wartime labor dispute from South Korea.

The administration is probably concerned about an adverse reaction from the conservative members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party who are deeply critical and distrustful of South Korea.

Japan was also miffed by South Korea’s unilateral announcement that the two leaders would hold a meeting.

The Yoon administration seems to have gotten off on the wrong foot because it was too eager to stress its differences from the previous administration of Moon Jae-in, which chilled bilateral ties to their current frosty state.

But it was a thoughtless act that lacked due consideration to the partner.

No matter what it is called, the occasion in which the leaders of the two countries spoke to each other for the first time in a while should be used by Tokyo and Seoul to set out on serious diplomatic efforts toward resolving pending bilateral issues.

With regard to the wartime labor issue, which has been the largest factor behind the chill in the bilateral relationship, the Yoon administration has been working to develop a plan to provide relief to victims without allowing the Japanese assets to be sold off.

This is a delicate and tricky challenge like passing a thread through the eye of a needle. But Seoul has been making steady and serious efforts to find a solution, such as ascertaining legal grounds for measures it is considering.

If South Korea offers a proposal to settle the dispute that Japan can accept, Tokyo should demonstrate afresh a humble stance toward history issues. The diplomatic impasse cannot be broken without serious efforts by both sides to create a virtuous cycle of actions for the bilateral ties.

Kishida and Yoon expressed “grave concerns” about North Korea’s nuclear weapons development program as Pyongyang seems to be poised to conduct its seventh underground nuclear test.

North Korea appears to be weighing the timing of the test by considering such key factors as the scheduled Communist Party congress in China, its largest ally, and the COVID-19 outbreak at home. North Korea has also been taking steps to establish itself as a nuclear power, such as setting legal conditions for using nuclear arms.

Japan and South Korea have no choice but to work with the United States in efforts to maintain stability in the region.

The relationship between Japan and South Korea is a sensitive issue that directly affects the political situations in the two countries. Even so, the two leaders should not allow their domestic political calculations and motivations to dictate their policies for dealing with the relationship.

Swiftly improving the ties is vital for the two nations to work together to tackle a long list of weighty international challenges.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 23