Japan Hopes to Build Ties with S. Korea's Next Govt Quickly

Tokyo, May 9 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government plans to work hard to build solid relations with the next administration of South Korea as soon as it is established, in order to deal with growing tensions over North Korea due to the reclusive state's nuclear and missile development. At Tuesday's meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of the Diet, Japan's parliament, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, "I want to agree with South Korea's next president that the two countries will continue working together." "I'm willing to promote security cooperation between Japan and South Korea, and among the two countries plus the United States in addressing North Korean threats, including through information sharing with Seoul based on the Japan-South Korea general security of military information agreement (GSOMIA)," which was signed last year, Abe said. "I hope to share this strategy with the next president of South Korea," Abe added. Abe also said that he hopes to hold talks with the next South Korean leader over the phone as early as possible. Abe made the remarks as a presidential election was held in South Korea on Tuesday to choose a successor to disgraced Park Geun-hye, who was dismissed in March. The prime minister is also expected to ask South Korea to implement the December 2015 bilateral agreement to "finally and irreversibly" resolve the issue of Korean comfort women. Under the agreement, South Korea vowed to make efforts to address the issue of the statue of a girl symbolizing comfort women, erected in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul in 2011. Japan has been calling for the removal of the statue. But the South Korean side has failed to meet the request. Comfort women refer to those who were forced into prostitution for Japanese troops before and during World War II. To make matters worse, a similar statue was set up in front of the Japanese consulate-general in the southern South Korean city of Busan in late December 2016. This led Japan to temporarily recall its ambassador to South Korea, Yasumasa Nagamine, and its consul-general in Busan, Yasuhiro Morimoto. With many South Korean citizens opposing the 2015 bilateral agreement, the next South Korean government is highly likely to seek a renegotiation of the landmark deal. Japan is expected to reject such a request. Japanese government sources said that the first meeting between Abe and South Korea's next president may take place on the margin of a summit of the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies in Germany in July at the earliest or on the occasion of the U.N. General Assembly session in New York in September. Still, work to arrange the bilateral summit could hit a snag due to the comfort women issue, observers said. END