Photo/Illutration Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shakes hands with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol prior to the start of their meeting on March 16 at the Prime Minister’s Official Residence. (Koichi Ueda)

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held talks on March 16 with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol regarding improving bilateral ties and dealing with North Korea’s ballistic missile launches.

At a joint news conference after their meeting, Kishida said, “We agreed to further develop our bilateral ties based on the foundation” set by the 1965 treaty normalizing diplomatic relations.

He added that national security discussions between the two nations would resume at an early date and that a new framework to discuss economic security would also be set up.

"Yoon's visit serves as a major first step toward restoring our bilateral ties to a normal one," Kishida said.

Yoon said, “South Korea and Japan share common values and we must work together as important partners.”

The two leaders agreed to resume mutual visits but at the joint news conference Kishida only said that he was still considering what would be an appropriate time for him to visit South Korea.

While the details of what was discussed by Kishida and Yoon have not been disclosed through briefings by government officials, sources said Japan had agreed to end stiffer export control measures on materials used by South Korean semiconductor companies.

Those measures were implemented in 2019 in retaliation for South Korean Supreme Court rulings ordering Japanese companies to compensate wartime Korean laborers.

Bureaucrats from Japan and South Korea have been holding talks since March 14 on South Korea’s export mechanisms. Sources said officials with the economy ministry confirmed that everything was in order and the stiffer measures could be lifted.

South Korean officials, in turn, indicated that Seoul would retract a complaint filed with the World Trade Organization over the Japanese export control measures.

The two leaders were to have dinner together later on March 16 to develop a personal relationship. Alcohol may likely smooth things over as both Kishida and Yoon are known for their fondness of such beverages.

Yoon arrived in Tokyo in the morning for his first visit as president. The last time a South Korean president visited Japan specifically for a meeting with the prime minister was in December 2011.

The thaw in often chilly bilateral relations was brought on by Seoul’s announcement on March 6 that the government would set up a foundation to shoulder payments to wartime Korean laborers who filed lawsuits seeking compensation from Japanese companies.

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