The foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan are set to meet in Seoul on Monday as the two key U.S. allies aim to highlight strengthened ties and shared security concerns amid the most severe political crisis South Korea has faced in decades.
The talks between South Korea’s Cho Tae-yul and Japan’s Takeshi Iwaya mark the first high-level meeting between the nations since South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol briefly imposed martial law last month, a decision that shocked the country.
Yoon has remained in seclusion at his hillside villa in Seoul since his impeachment and suspension by parliament on December 3 over the martial law decree. Investigators have pledged to arrest him after an unsuccessful attempt earlier this month.
In addition to his meeting with Cho, Iwaya is scheduled to meet South Korea’s Acting President Choi Sang-mok, according to a statement from the Japanese government.
As the administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office on January 20, none of the original leaders who forged a trilateral security cooperation pact in 2023—U.S. President Joe Biden, Yoon, or former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida—will remain in power.
Under Yoon and Kishida, South Korea-Japan relations significantly improved after hitting their lowest point in decades due to contentious diplomatic and trade disputes stemming from Japan’s 1910-1945 colonization of the Korean Peninsula.
Yoon had made restoring relations with Tokyo a cornerstone of his diplomatic strategy, aiming to enhance security collaboration with Japan and the U.S. to address the growing threats posed by North Korea’s military.
During a visit to South Korea last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed confidence in the nation’s democratic processes. However, he also noted Washington’s “serious concerns” over some of Yoon’s actions during his martial law declaration.
While polls indicate that a majority of South Koreans disapprove of Yoon’s imposition of martial law and support his impeachment, his ruling People Power Party (PPP) has seen a surge in support.
According to the latest Realmeter poll released on Monday, the PPP’s approval rating has risen to 40.8%, narrowing the gap with the opposition Democratic Party, which stands at 42.2%. This marks a significant shift from the 10.8-point difference recorded last week, with the new figures falling within the margin of error.
