S. Korea’s Lee, Japan’s Ishiba Vow to Boost Ties in First Call

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(Bloomberg) — South Korea’s President Lee Jae-myung and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba held their first phone conversation and vowed to seek ways to deepen bilateral ties so both nations can respond together to future challenges. 

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“The two leaders agreed to build a more solid and mature South Korea-Japan relationship based on mutual respect, trust, and a responsible attitude,” Lee’s office said in a readout Monday. The conversation lasted 25 minutes and marked their first direct contact since Lee’s victory in a snap election last week.  

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Lee said the importance of their bilateral ties has been increasing in the recent strategic environment and said he hoped the two countries could “work together to address future challenges and find ways to coexist from the perspective of mutual national interests.” 

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Ishiba said he hoped relations would move forward based on the foundations already built between the two governments, according to a statement released by the Japanese Foreign Ministry, that also expressed hope the two leaders would meet each other face-to-face. Lee and Ishiba also agreed on the importance of working together with the United States through trilateral cooperation, according to the Japanese statement.

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The call comes with relations between South Korea and Japan, and their trilateral ties with the US under close scrutiny given a tendency for new leaders in Seoul to pull the rug on progress made by their predecessors. 

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Lee, a progressive politician and former governor of the region around Seoul, took office after defeating his conservative rival in a contest triggered by the ouster of former President Yoon Suk Yeol. Yoon was removed following an unsuccessful attempt to impose martial law in December, sparking months of unrest. Security and trade ties had improved markedly under Lee’s predecessor Yoon. 

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While Lee has recently tempered his rhetoric, he has yet to spell out how he plans to address the issue of compensation claims for Koreans forced into labor during World War II or other lingering disputes, including wartime sexual slavery and territorial claims. 

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“Lee Jae-myung rebranded himself on the campaign trail as a ‘centrist-conservative’ by moderating many of his earlier extreme foreign policies,” said Bruce Klingner, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, adding there remains considerable skepticism whether Lee will deviate from his past positions stance.

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Lee’s foreign policy posture will face an early test next week when he travels to Canada to attend the Group of Seven summit. While South Korea is not a G-7 member, Lee was invited to participate, according to his office.

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The visit could also pave the way for his first in-person meeting with US President Donald Trump, following their initial phone call last Friday. The two agreed to expedite trade negotiations that had stalled amid the leadership vacuum in Seoul. Trump invited Lee to the US during the phone conversation and the two leaders agreed to meet in the near future to discuss bilateral issues, Lee’s office said.

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Lee has said that shielding South Korean exports from Trump’s tariff regime would be his top priority in bilateral discussions.  

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Ishiba will also attend the G7 summit. He has said that the summit may be a “milestone” for trade talks with the US, hinting at his hopes to finalize a trade deal by then.

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This year marks the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between South Korea and Japan.

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