<South Korea and Japan: A milestone meeting of frenemies>

South Korea and Japan's leaders have held talks in Tokyo in what has been hailed as a milestone
in their fraught relationship. It comes just as North Korea fired a fourth round of missiles in a
week - a reminder of why security is being prioritised over past disputes.
The leaders agreed to resume regular visits, and resolved a long-running trade dispute. Japan
agreed to lift restrictions on exports of semi-conductor materials, while South Korea withdrew its
complaint to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol pulled off quite the coup to get this summit.
This is the first time a South Korean leader has been invited to Tokyo for such a meeting in 12
years.
The relationship between these neighbours has been plagued for decades by their difficult history.
South Korea was colonised by Japan from 1910 until the end of World War Two. Japanese soldiers
forced hundreds of thousands of Koreans to work in its mines and factories. Women were pushed
into sexual slavery.

These scars, while no longer fresh, are not forgotten nor forgiven here.
But last week, President Yoon dropped the demand that Japan compensate some of the victims of
its slavery. He agreed South Korea would raise the money instead. In doing so he sought to put
aside the past for the sake of the security of northeast Asia.
The opposition leader branded the deal the "biggest humiliation in our history". But it won
President Yoon this trip to Tokyo. Diplomats here are quietly surprised and impressed. They see it
as a brave and astute move, especially for a political novice, with no foreign policy experience.
Until last year, Mr Yoon was a lawyer.
Since taking office, he has made repairing this fractured relationship a cornerstone of his foreign
policy. With nuclear-armed North Korea becoming more dangerous, Seoul stands to benefit from
sharing intelligence with Tokyo and having their militaries work together.
He also wants to please his ally, the US, which is desperately trying to draw its partners closer to
combat the rise of China. President Joe Biden hailed Mr Yoon's Japan deal as "a ground-breaking
new chapter". The next day he sent him an invitation to the White House for a prestigious state
visit.

The two nations will no doubt benefit from closer ties. But this is a strategic and diplomatic win
for Japan. The world's third-largest economy is preparing to host the G7 summit in May in
Hiroshima.
Threats posed by North Korea and China will be among those at the top of the agenda. Closer
security ties with South Korea will give Japan a much more solid standing as they address these
threats and how to handle them.
This also sends an important message to the US. Tokyo wants to reassure Washington that it can
still rely on it as a key ally and powerbroker in an increasingly unstable and volatile region.
Diplomatically this summit is significant. In 2019 relations between Tokyo and Seoul plummeted
over the forced labour dispute during Japan's colonial rule of the Korean peninsula.
Leaders of the two nations met briefly at the G20 that year, but it was not as important because
there were no bilateral talks.

Tensions also escalated when Tokyo imposed export curbs on high-tech materials such as
chemicals used to make smartphone displays, TV screens and semi-conductors.
When South Korea announced earlier this month a plan to resolve the long-standing dispute,
there was a sense of excitement for a new beginning - among diplomats and politicians as least.
Mr Kishida hailed the move and Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi welcomed the effort to
"return ties to a healthy state" while both sides announced talks on rolling back trade curbs
imposed almost four years ago.
This rapprochement could not come at a more crucial time. Not just for the two neighbours but
their common strategic ally - the US.
Joe Biden said in a statement that this was "a ground-breaking new chapter of co-operation and
partnership between two of the United States' closest allies".
"When fully realised, their steps will help us to uphold and advance our shared vision for a free
and open Indo-Pacific," he added.
But this will not be smooth sailing for either leader. There's still a great deal of historical tension
and mistrust among the hardline-politicians of both countries.
Right now, though, the neighbours face a common and ever growing threat. North Korea is
developing stronger, more developed missiles - and there are worries that it will soon be testing
nuclear weapons.
China is aggressively expanding in the region and its suspected military base project in the
Solomon Islands (which Beijing denies) has worried Washington and its allies in the Asia-Pacific.
Last month, after the US shot down Chinese spy balloons, Japan's government said it suspected
that three unidentified flying objects spotted over the nation's territory since 2019 had been
Chinese spy balloons.
Japan's Defence Ministry said it would review its rules over the use of force in relation to any
future violations of the country's airspace by a foreign balloon. Defence Minister Yasukazu
Hamada earlier hinted that the government would not rule out shooting down such foreign
balloons.
Japan is also constantly worried any potential Chinese aggression towards Taiwan - which will
inevitably pull it in. Those anxieties continue to deepen the more Beijing leans towards Moscow in
the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Japan and South Korea share a fraught history - but the two countries now face an increasingly
tense present and an uncertain future when it comes to regional security.

출처 : BBC

1) South Korea and Japan's leaders have held talks in Tokyo in what has been hailed as a
milestone in their fraught relationship.

한국과 일본의 지도자들은 도쿄에서 회담을 가졌고, 이것은 양국간의 긴장된 관계에서 획기적인
사건이라고 칭송되어 왔다.

*be hailed as a milestone : 획기적인 사건이라고 칭송받다.

*hail : (훌륭하거나 특별한 것으로) 묘사하다, 신호를 보내다, 우박, 쏟아지는

*milestone : 중요한 사건

2) It comes just as North Korea fired a fourth round of missiles in a week - a reminder of
why security is being prioritised over past disputes.

일주일 만에 북한이 4 차 미사일 발사를 한 사건은, 안보가 과거 분쟁보다 우선되어야 한다고

상기시켜 주었다.
*fire a a round of B : B 를 A 번째로 발사하다.

3) South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol pulled off quite the coup to get this summit.

한국의 윤석열 대통령은 이번 정상회담을 성사시키기 위해 쿠데타를 완전히 성공시켰다.

*pull off quite the coup : 쿠데타를 완전히 성공시키다.

*pull off quite : 잘 해내다

4) These scars, while no longer fresh, are not forgotten nor forgiven here.

이 잔흔들은, 진부한 주제이긴 하지만, 한국에게는 잊혀지지도 용서되지도 않는다.

*while no longer fresh : 더 이상 신선하지 않지만, 오래되긴 했지만, 진부한 주제이긴 하지만

5) But last week, President Yoon dropped the demand that Japan compensate some of the
victims of its slavery.

그러나 지난 주, 윤 대통령은 ‘일본이 남아있는 일본군 성노예 희생자들에게 보상하라’는 요구를

철회했다.

*drop the demand : 요구를 철회하다

*drop : 방울, 떨어지다

6) With nuclear-armed North Korea becoming more dangerous, Seoul stands to benefit
from sharing intelligence with Tokyo and having their militaries work together.

핵 무장한 북한이 더욱 위협적으로 변하면서, 한국은 일본과 정보를 공유하고 군사협력을

진행함으로써 도움을 받는 위치에 서게 된다.

*stand to benefit from A : A 로부터 도움을 받는 위치가 된다.

7) The two nations will no doubt benefit from closer ties.

양국은 보다 긴밀한 관계를 통해 이익을 얻을 것임이 틀림없다.

*no doubt benefit from A : A 로부터 틀림없이 이익을 얻다.

8) Joe Biden said in a statement that this was "a ground-breaking new chapter of co-
operation and partnership between two of the United States' closest allies".

조 바이든 대통령은 연설에서, "미국과 가장 가까운 두 동맹국 간의 협력 및 파트너십의 새 시대에

열릴 것"이라고 말했다.
*ground-breaking new chapter : 획기적인 새 챕터, 새로운 시대

9) But this will not be smooth sailing for either leader.

그러나 이것은 두 지도자 모두에게 쉬운 길은 아닐 것이다.

*be smooth sailing : 순조로운 항해가 되다, 쉬운 길이 되다, 순조롭게 진행되다