Japan, South Korean Foreign Chiefs Reaffirm Cooperation; North Korea’s Nuclear, Missile Development Discussed

By Shinsuke Uemura and Kazusa Yoda / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

18:42 JST, January 13, 2025

SEOUL — Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yul on Monday reaffirmed maintaining close cooperation between the two countries against North Korea, which continues its nuclear and missile development.

Iwaya met with the South Korean foreign minister in Seoul and the two also agreed to continue to strengthen such things as their countries’ bilateral cooperation and their trilateral cooperation with the United States.

It was the first in-person meeting between the two countries’ foreign ministers since President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law in December. It was also the first visit by a Japanese foreign minister to South Korea since then Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa visited Busan in November 2023 for a trilateral meeting that included her Chinese counterpart.

In addition to North Korea’s nuclear and missile development, Iwaya and Cho discussed other regional situations such as North Korea and Russia’s military cooperation during their talks on Monday.

The two ministers also agreed to proceed with preparations for cultural exchange events to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between Japan and South Korea.

With Iwaya’s visit, the government intended to show that Tokyo places importance on relations with Seoul regardless of the ongoing turmoil in South Korean domestic politics. Japan also wanted to confirm with South Korea the importance of cooperation among like-minded countries, as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has expressed his negative stance toward multilateral cooperation, will take office on Jan. 20.