South Korea welcomes Japanese PM Abe's PyeongChang Olympics visit
Arirang News
2018-01-25
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It's official,... Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will be at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
And his visit could be more than just a few hours at the opening ceremony.
Abe says he wants to hold talks with President Moon Jae-in while he's in Korea... to convey Japan's stance on the issue of its wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women.
Seoul hopes the visit will aid in efforts to develop a more forward-looking relationship with Tokyo.
Moon Connyoung reports.
"The governments of South Korea and Japan have been discussing Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to South Korea for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and we welcome Japan's decision to officially announce the visit."
The Blue House remarks come in response to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's announcement that he would attend the PyeongChang Olympics in South Korea next month... after weeks of speculation that the Japanese leader would skip the visit.
"If the situation allows it, I want to attend the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Olympics. In 2020, there is the Tokyo Olympics. I want to attend the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Olympics, which will be also held in Asia, and cheer on the athletes."
Abe's announcement brushed aside concern that he would not take part due to an ongoing bilateral feud over a 2015 agreement on "comfort women," a euphemistic term referring to the victims of Japan's sexual enslavement of Korean women before and during World War II.
Under the controversial deal, South Korean President Moon Jae-in's predecessor and her conservative administration agreed to "finally and irreversibly" end the decades-old dispute in exchange for Japan's apology and contribution of a little over 9-million U.S. dollars to a fund set up to support the victims.
The new Moon Jae-in administration declared the deal flawed.
"Only when Japan acknowledges the truth, makes a heartfelt apology to the victims, and works with the international community to make sure such history is never repeated, will the victims be able to sincerely forgive them."
"We also want to hold a bilateral summit and convey Japan's stance on the "comfort women" agreement, while also communicating the importance of the Japan-SouthKorea-U.S. cooperation in maintaining strong pressure against North Korea."
"To that end, South Korea's Blue House plans to maintain its own stance on the issue of Korean victims of Japan's sexual enslavement, but also closely cooperate with Japan so that Prime Minister Abe's trip South Korea trip will lead to the development of a future-oriented relationship between the two countries.
How the two leaders work out their kinks and put their heads together to solve another huge issue facing them - North Korea's nuclear threat - the world will be watching from here on out.
Moon Connyoung, Arirang News, the Blue House."
And his visit could be more than just a few hours at the opening ceremony.
Abe says he wants to hold talks with President Moon Jae-in while he's in Korea... to convey Japan's stance on the issue of its wartime sexual enslavement of Korean women.
Seoul hopes the visit will aid in efforts to develop a more forward-looking relationship with Tokyo.
Moon Connyoung reports.
"The governments of South Korea and Japan have been discussing Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to South Korea for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and we welcome Japan's decision to officially announce the visit."
The Blue House remarks come in response to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's announcement that he would attend the PyeongChang Olympics in South Korea next month... after weeks of speculation that the Japanese leader would skip the visit.
"If the situation allows it, I want to attend the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Olympics. In 2020, there is the Tokyo Olympics. I want to attend the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Olympics, which will be also held in Asia, and cheer on the athletes."
Abe's announcement brushed aside concern that he would not take part due to an ongoing bilateral feud over a 2015 agreement on "comfort women," a euphemistic term referring to the victims of Japan's sexual enslavement of Korean women before and during World War II.
Under the controversial deal, South Korean President Moon Jae-in's predecessor and her conservative administration agreed to "finally and irreversibly" end the decades-old dispute in exchange for Japan's apology and contribution of a little over 9-million U.S. dollars to a fund set up to support the victims.
The new Moon Jae-in administration declared the deal flawed.
"Only when Japan acknowledges the truth, makes a heartfelt apology to the victims, and works with the international community to make sure such history is never repeated, will the victims be able to sincerely forgive them."
"We also want to hold a bilateral summit and convey Japan's stance on the "comfort women" agreement, while also communicating the importance of the Japan-SouthKorea-U.S. cooperation in maintaining strong pressure against North Korea."
"To that end, South Korea's Blue House plans to maintain its own stance on the issue of Korean victims of Japan's sexual enslavement, but also closely cooperate with Japan so that Prime Minister Abe's trip South Korea trip will lead to the development of a future-oriented relationship between the two countries.
How the two leaders work out their kinks and put their heads together to solve another huge issue facing them - North Korea's nuclear threat - the world will be watching from here on out.
Moon Connyoung, Arirang News, the Blue House."
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