South Korea-Japan issues

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol have met in Tokyo, the first summit in 12 years – amid threats from nuclear-armed North Korea


RUSSIA
CHINA
NORTH KOREA
Seoul
SOUTH KOREA
SEA OF JAPAN / EAST SEA
Tokyo
JAPAN
400km 250 miles

Dokdo / Takeshima / Liancourt Rocks: Two main islands and about 30 smaller outcrops. Claimed by Japan but occupied by South Korea since 1954


Fumio Kishida (above left) and Yoon Suk Yeol (above right)


Aug 2012: South Korean President Lee Myung Bak visits Dokdo island chain, causing relations to deteriorate

Feb 2015: Japan-South Korea currency swap – which enables each country to secure dollars in exchange for its currency during financial emergencies – expires

Nov 2016: Seoul, Tokyo and U.S. sign intelligence-sharing General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) amid series of nuclear tests by North Korea

Jan 2017: Talks to restart swap accord suspended following row over “comfort women” forced to work in Japan’s wartime brothels

Jul 2019: Japan restricts export of semiconductor materials to South Korea after row over compensation to forced labourers during Japan’s occupation of Korea

Nov: Seoul agrees to continue GSOMIA with Tokyo after threat to scrap pact

Mar 13, 2023: President Yoon announces solution to wartime labour compensation dispute with Japan

Mar 16: North Korea fires suspect Hwasong-17 ICBM into East Sea/Sea of Japan ahead of summit


Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile


Sources: Bloomberg, Nikkei Asia, Reuters, Japan Times 
Pictures: Getty Images 
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