Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s invitation for South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to be a guest at the G-7 talks in Hiroshima is only the most recent sign of these reset ties. Ties worsened in 2018, for instance, after South Korean court rulings ordered two Japanese companies to compensate a group of Korean plaintiffs who the companies had used for wartime slave labor. North Korea also used the global focus on the invasion to ramp up its tests of nuclear-capable missiles. Last year, Tokyo adopted a new national security strategy that includes the goal of acquiring preemptive strike capabilities and cruise missiles to counter threats from North Korea, China, and Russia. After decades of poverty and dictatorship following the 1950-53 Korean War, South Korea has become a developed economic and military power.

Source: The North Africa Journal May 17, 2023 12:13 UTC