• Japan’s 1910–1945 occupation of Korea has strained relations between the two US allies.
• Washington has urged Tokyo and Seoul to mend relations in light of the North Korean nuclear threat.
• South Korea’s new president Yoon Suk-yeol promised to improve relations with Japan.

South Korea believes a high-level visit to Tokyo next week will resume negotiations on historical conflicts, despite fears the death of former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe will hinder attempts to restore ties.

Japan’s 1910–1945 occupation of Korea has strained relations between the two U.S. allies. In recent days, Washington has urged Tokyo and Seoul to mend relations in light of the North Korean nuclear threat and China’s rise.

Officials in the government of South Korea’s new president, Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office in May and promised to improve relations with Japan, told an international news agency that they feel encouraged by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s recent election win, which gives him more room to move forward with his policy agenda for the next three years.

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Foreign Minister Park Jin will visit Tokyo next week to “turn on the tap” for meaningful negotiations on forced labour, which froze under Yoon’s predecessor.

The Japanese public broadcaster NHK announced on Thursday that Park would visit Tokyo on July 18. South Korea did not confirm the information immediately.

According to a second official, when Japan hosts a public mourning service for Abe, who was shot and murdered while campaigning last week, Yoon will send a high-level delegation led by the prime minister.

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