South Korea and Japanese Foreign Ministers met in Seoul on Monday to discuss strengthening their relations in the face of growing security issues in the region and political turmoil in the host country.
This meeting was the highest-level diplomatic meeting between the two countries in the political turmoil that has evolved since South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared brief martial law last month.
It also took place at a time when North Korea's missile tests were increasing.
Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, who held a joint press conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, said, "The security situation in this region is becoming very serious and the importance of Japan-South Korea relations in this strategic environment has not changed, it has even become increasingly important."
Iwaya will also meet with South Korean President Choi Sang-mok, who acted in place of the dismissed President Yoon.
Yoon has been hiding in his hilltop villa in Seoul since parliament decided to remove him from office last month due to the martial law decree on December 3, and investigators have pledged to arrest him as part of a separate investigation into a possible uprising.
Tripartite security emphasis with the US
At their press conference, Iwaya and Choi reiterated the importance of developing trilateral security cooperation with their common allies, the United States.
With US President-elect Donald Trump taking office on January 20, none of the first leaders to establish a security agreement between the two countries in 2023 – US President Joe Biden, Yoon and former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida – will take office.
Yoon had made it a diplomatic priority to mend relations with Tokyo, which were often tengrow due to historical issues, and to conduct a joint security move with Washington in the region.
Iwaya visited the Seoul National Cemetery early on Monday, which honoured Korean veterans, including those who died while trying to gain their independence from Japanese colonial rule, which ended in 1945, as a salute to efforts to put historical matters aside.
Also on Monday, Japan, the Philippines and the United States pledged to further deepen their cooperation under a trilateral arrangement in the face of growing tension in Asian waters following a call among their leaders.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who visited South Korea last week, expressed confidence in Seoul's democratic process, but said Washington had “serious concerns” about some of the steps Yoon took during his martial law declaration.
Polls show that the majority of South Koreans do not approve of Yoon's declaration of martial law and support his dismissal.