South Korea, Japan agree to boost energy cooperation

The South Korean and Japanese leaders, whose nations have not always had good relations, have vowed deeper ties at talks. They reaffirmed stronger security coordination and energy cooperation in challenging times.

South ​Korean President ​Lee ‌Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held a fourth meeting in about six months on Tuesday, with both leaders pledging to continue deepening bilateral ties.

The two countries have long had a turbulent relationship over issues related to Japan's 35-year colonization of the Korean Peninsula before the end of World War II, but ties have recently been on the mend.

 Both Lee and Takaichi are relatively new to their jobs, having taken office last year. 

What did Lee and Takaichi agree?

Following the talks in Andong, Lee's hometown, the two leaders said they would step up coordination to stabilize energy supply lines and expand cooperation with other Asian partners.

"Recent instability ‌in supply chains and energy markets stemming from the situation in the Middle East has further underscored the need for close cooperation between our two countries," Lee said in a ‌joint press statement.

Takaichi said they also launched a bilateral initiative that aims to strengthen the resilience of ​the energy supply.

She said that included enlarging reserves in the Indo-Pacific region and "assessing energy, security through measures such as mutual swap transactions for crude oil, petroleum products and LNG."

The two also reaffirmed their desire for stronger security coordination, including cooperation ​with the United States, in the face of several shared challenges.

Among other things, both Japan and South Korea feel themselves highly exposed to the threat posed by North Korea's growing nuclear arsenal and by the strategic competition between the US and China.

'Shuttle diplomacy' aims to deepen ties

According to Lee, a pledge was also made to advance their "shuttle diplomacy" framework, which has led to altogether six meetings ​between the two since Lee took office.

Lee and Takaichi's predecessors already took steps in 2023 to move beyond longstanding historical disputes and expand bilateral cooperation amid an ever more turbulent regional and global security situation.

Edited by: Dmytro Hubenko