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South Korea-Japan State Leaders Attend Events Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Restored Relations Today

입력 2015.06.22 17:25

Yu Shin-mo, Tokyo Correspondent Yun Hui-il

‪On June 22, President Park Geun-hye will attend a reception in Seoul celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations organized by the Japanese government.

On the same day, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will attend a reception hosted by our government in Tokyo, commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of restored bilateral relations. Thus the two state leaders will attend events celebrating restored diplomatic ties between the two countries organized by each other’s government. This is expected to be a new turning point in discussions on restoring bilateral relations including the possibility of a South Korea-Japan summit.

South Korea-Japan State Leaders Attend Events Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Restored Relations Today

On the night of June 21, Cheong Wa Dae sent out a press release and officially announced, "President Park will attend the reception commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the normalization of relations between the two countries organized in Seoul by the Japanese government and deliver a congratulatory message." They added, "Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is scheduled to attend the reception hosted by the South Korean government in Tokyo."

Cheong Wa Dae announced, "The leaders of South Korea and Japan will attend the reception celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of restored diplomatic ties and are expected to contribute to the future development of bilateral relations."
The two countries had initially sought to have both state leaders cross attend the events held in Seoul and Tokyo. But after Prime Minister Abe notified that he could not attend due to a review of the country's security bill by the Japanese parliament on the day of the event, the cross attendance of the state leaders was canceled.

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However, last weekend Japan notified the South Korean government of Prime Minister Abe's wish to attend the South Korean government's event, and that night, Cheong Wa Dae also officially announced President Park's attendance at the ceremony hosted by the Japanese government confirming the two state leaders schedules. Accordingly, discussions on restoring bilateral relations are expected to gain momentum. In particular, all eyes are on whether a South Korea-Japan summit will be held, after the possibility of such a summit had dropped due to issues concerning past history such as the comfort women in the Japanese military.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida attended a meeting in Tokyo, Japan this day and discussed issues including the comfort women and a possible summit between the two countries. Reportedly, Yun will meet with Prime Minister Abe prior to attending the reception celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of restored diplomatic ties organized by the Japanese embassy in Korea on June 22.

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South Korea-Japan State Leaders Attend Events Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Restored Relations Today

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