WASHINGTON : The leaders of Japan and South Korea used their first summit in nearly three years to pledge to resolve historical issues that have damaged ties between the US allies.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met for about 30 minutes in New York, where both had addressed a session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Statements from both sides issued Thursday (Sept 22) said the pair also discussed the importance of cooperation that includes the US as they face threats from the likes of North Korea.

"The two leaders shared the need to resolve the pending issues and restore a healthy relationship between Japan and South Korea,” a statement from Japan said.

South Korea said the two shared an urgency to "improve bilateral relations by resolving pending issues, and to this end, they instructed the diplomatic authorities to accelerate dialogue.”

Decisions by South Korean courts in recent years finding certain Japanese companies liable for compensation to Korean laborers for work done during Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule over the peninsula has soured ties.

It also briefly touched off a trade dispute between the neighbours that the Biden administration has been courting as it seeks to secure supply lines for crucial goods such as semiconductors that diminish dependence on China.

Japan has said the South Korea court rulings were unjust, and matters of compensation were "settled completely and finally” under a 1965 agreement that normalized relations.

Yoon, a conservative who came to office in May, has pursued greater military cooperation with the US and rolled out security policies backing a tough line on China and North Korea that are in line with positions taken by Kishida’s government.

Yoon and Kishida met briefly at a Nato summit in June but the last formal summit between the countries took place in December 2019, when then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met Yoon’s predecessor, President Moon Jae-in, a progressive who sought rapprochement with North Korea and a soft touch with Beijing.

South Korea and Japan host the bulk of US troops in Asia, and both seek a delicate balance between security ties with Washington and economic cooperation with China, the biggest trading partner for both.

In August, the US announced it had conducted a joint missile defence exercise off Hawaii with Japan and South Korea, raising the profile of the drills and showing a willingness to work together to counter threats posed by North Korea and China.

A plan being floated by Yoon to solve the labor issue through a joint fund between the governments stands little chance of support in Japan, which is still angry after a similar fund for women trafficked into Imperial Army brothels was scuttled by Moon.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry submitted an argument to the Supreme Court a few months ago that asked for a delay issuing a verdict on liquidising assets of a Japanese company to pay compensation for the conscripted workers.

The ministry added it was making various diplomatic efforts to resolve the issue.

  - Bloomberg