S Korea's Moon says Tokyo Olympics may be chance to revitalize diplomacy

While the ball is on South Korea's court side, nobody expects much from the lame duck Moon. Besides the SK is not a top priority for Japan's diplomacy.

Seeking to take a page from its 2018 Winter Olympics, Seoul is pinning high hopes on the Tokyo Olympics to revitalize diplomacy with North Korea despite uncertainty over the coronavirus pandemic and Pyongyang's cutoff of exchanges with the outside world.

The Olympics is not aimed for the unification effort.

Huh?

What reopening of talks? Why does every PM of Korea stoke up hatred and then ask to reopen scabs?

Something fishy. All he or South Korea asking is for more money. Their econony is going stronger despite the pandemic.

Once they will be No.2 in Asia (Chine as No. 1), they will bully Japan a lot with such an arrogant laugh. So, stay strong, Japan!, Stay Strong! Banzai! Banzai! Banzai!

This, from the country that threatened to pull out of GSOMIA, putting millions of lives at risk of nuclear war. 

South Korea cares more about diplomacy with North Korea than with Japan. The week after Trump first met Kim Jong Un, South Korea cancelled its joint military drill with the US near the border, yet it still did a drill over the Liancourt Rocks in case of an attack by Japan. A survey found that almost half of people in South Korea would side with North Korea in a war against Japan, while forty percent said "I don't know". Another survey found that South Koreans view Abe less favorably than Kim Jong Un, a dictator who imprisons entire families and holds public executions.

Moon's talk of diplomacy reeks of insincerity. The hypocrisy makes me ashamed to be Korean.

What diplomacy? All these grievances feel soooo contrived

I'm old enough to remember how sharing the world cup tournament between Japan and Korea brought our two nations together and we never again had to struggle with historical revisionism and the grievances of generations.

Except wait..that didn't happen. There was bread and circuses for a few weeks, sponsors got rich and then both sides went back to despising each other.

This time, the circus will be held in an empty arena.

Scrap this white elephant.

Very suspicious. The Olympics will introduce dozens of new COVID variants into Japan, destroying the Japanese economy. What is Moon really thinking?

The ROK court is about to execute the asset liquidation of Mitsubishi to compensate the forced laborers, and Moon is simply telling Japan to look to future and not go ballistic when Korea tries to carry out justice on Japan's past atrocities.

@Coffee

This, from the country that threatened to pull out of GSOMIA, putting millions of lives at risk of nuclear war. 

Korean lives aren't under threat from GSOMIA termination, only Japanese lives are because Japanese are blinded from incoming ballistic missiles without early warning from Korea, which is the sole purpose of GSOMIA between Korea and Japan.

@gokai_wo_maneku

What is Moon really thinking?

Moon is telling Japan to come down when Mitsubishi's assets are liquidated by court anyday now.

It's a trick. Don't believe it.

“It’s a trap!” - Admiral Ackbar.

Bruh.

What progress has exactly been made since the 2018 Olympics, Moon? I swear that guy is deluded.

South Korea's President Moon Jae-in has the opportunity to improve diplomatic relations. Simply by honouring signed treaties, and agreements.

 Moon said he was "ready to sit down" for talks with Japanese officials on those issues while seeking "wise solutions based on a victim-cantered approach."

"We must not let the past hold us back," he said. "I am confident that if we put our heads together ... we will also be able to wisely resolve issues of the past."

South Korea's President Moon Jae-in word have proven to be unreliable, untrustworthy.

Moon sit-downs will predictably lead to Moon welshing though the South Korean court system.

The manner in which the SK Government have used these pensioners as a political battering ram is appalling.

Yeah, he mooned us way too often by constantly changing between bashing and begging Japan..

Japan should ignore Korea and Mooon. Waste of time.

Korean lives aren't under threat from GSOMIA termination, only Japanese lives are

You are so kind. It's exactly attitudes like this that make South Korea a pariah.

@Robert Cikki

Add the Netherlands on the list with regards to Germany or even Ireland towards Great Britain. A consistent use of the victim card is counterproductive.

Japan, and the entire free world, cannot trust anything that South Korea says. This "diplomacy" nonsense is just a ploy by crooked Moon to try and look good. Well, it wont work. Expect mass rallies all through Korea when the Games are on, protesting against it and trying to take the focus away from Japans time to shine before the world. Koreans will be jealous.

I am confident that if we put our heads together ...

Not with social distancing still in force and the the slow roll-out of vaccinations for the general public.

What is there to talk about? South Korea has broken every argument ever made with Japan.

Broken every agreement with Japan. The autocorrect did me wrong again. Really what is the point of negotiating an agreement with South Korea? They will break it every time!

Before I respect him, now I can’t like him.

NO OLYMPICS

What makes him think Japan wants it?

@Samit Basu https://thediplomat.com/2019/11/south-korea-will-keeps-its-military-intelligence-pact-with-japan-for-now/

This article is for you.

@Samit Basu

GSOMIA made it easier for South Korea to access information gathered by Japan’s intelligence satellites, radar, patrol planes, and other high-tech systems, which are critical for analyzing North Korean missile tests and submarines.

For Japan, the agreement with South Korea had value because its military sensors are positioned to detect North Korean launches sooner, and also because of information the country gathers from spies, North Korean defectors and other human sources.

This is one of the lines of the mentioned article.

The Moon Jae-in administration has:

0 respect for Japan.

0 sincerity and honesty.

0 credibility on any issue regarding Japan.

We are at our worst relations between S. Korea and Japan because of Moon Jae-in!

Why do I blame Moon for 99% of the problems?

Because previous president Park tried to improve relations with Japan, she tried to move forward after money and apology was received in 2015 comfort women deal.

Which person is responsible for going back on that deal in 2017? Moon administration.

Under Moon the 1965 deal under threat.

Under Moon Korean Court always goes against Japan. Victim always win!

That was not the case before Moon, the Korean Court was under Check! To prevent such issues! No longer under Moon. He gave them permission to escalate!

Under Moon I don't trust S. Korea. They are too close to North Korea And China.

@Samit Basu 

@Coffee

This, from the country that threatened to pull out of GSOMIA, putting millions of lives at risk of nuclear war. 

Korean lives aren't under threat from GSOMIA termination, only Japanese lives are because Japanese are blinded from incoming ballistic missiles without early warning from Korea, which is the sole purpose of GSOMIA between Korea and Japan.

There are other countries besides Japan and Korea.

@Samit Basu 

@Coffee

This, from the country that threatened to pull out of GSOMIA, putting millions of lives at risk of nuclear war. 

Korean lives aren't under threat from GSOMIA termination, only Japanese lives are

So if North Korea attacks Japan or the US, all the soldiers conscripted in South Korea will sit back and do nothing? Shame on them.

Most Japanese here seem to have no idea about Moon. Before shouting, take some time to study who he is:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_Jae-in

https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2018-moon-jae-in-runner-up/

Try to find any contemporary Japanese politician who can be compared with him.

Some say that Moon did not make any progress with respect to the nuclear weapons and missiles of N. Korea. Look back what was going on 4 years ago, compared with today: no nuclear test, no ICBM test.

https://www.reuters.com/article/northkorea-missiles-hawaii-idINKBN1DS09H

The progress was not perfect, but it was far better than without it. It is not easy, but Moon did his best to bring peace in the Korean peninsula:

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1295067/john-bolton-says-diplomatic-dance-with-nk-was-south-koreas-creation

@Mark

So if North Korea attacks Japan or the US, all the soldiers conscripted in South Korea will sit back and do nothing?

If US as in Alaska, US mainland, or Guam, then it's an automatic war as the ROK has a treaty obligation to protect the US.

The same isn't true of Japan, the ROK couldn't care less if Tokyo got nuked by Kim's nuclear missiles.

@Falco

There are other countries besides Japan and Korea.

The US-ROK GSOMIA is in effect regardless of the fate of Japan-ROK GSOMIA, and the US still gets the real time radar data from Korea highly coveted by Japan even if Japan-ROK GSOMIA is terminated; the US just can't share that data it receives from Korea with Japan.

South Korea should stop this hatred campaign and rethink it's politic with Japan.

Moon should understand that doing so it will not only makes the relationship worse for his country but it will destabilize more the region in a time where Korea should look more to Japan rather than communist China.

South Korea also stirred controversy where it didn't exist by protesting against Japanese waving the Rising Sun Flag as sports events. (They pronounced it as being akin to the Nazi swastika flag during WW2.) During the Rugby championships in 2019 it wasn't waved anywhere, but by protesting vociferously over a non-existent "problem," the Koreans have almost ensure that some Japanese will wave them, just to spite the Koreans!

Diplomatic gestures should be rightfully viewed with suspicion.

How many times does Japan have to pay Korea?

I would say just stop doing business with them.

@Samit Basu South Korea can't terminate GSOMIA with Japan as long as it's an ally of US. You seem to miss the point of why South Korea didn't terminate the pact. USA issued strict warning that if South Korea terminates it's pact with Japan, USA would terminate it's pact with South korea.

@Samit Basu Anyway you look at it, South Korea is the one benefiting more from GSOMIA than Japan. Both South Korea and Japan are important For USA but Japan is a bigger player for USA's foreign policy. The only reason Moon is now saying all these words is because unlike Trump who let things get to worse among both the countries, Biden made it clear that it'd not tolerate this nonsense from South Korea. Biden said in a phone call with ABE on 6th january 2017 that he fully supported the 2015 comfort women agreement and South Korea's act of scrapping the agreement foolish.

@Samit Basu 

The same isn't true of Japan, the ROK couldn't care less if Tokyo got nuked by Kim's nuclear missiles

So all the talk from Moon about improving ties with Japan was BS.

SJ, it would be inexcusable not to have empathy for the plight of the SK people during the Imperial Japanese Army occupation, the horrendous atrocities committed is an act of cruelty and injustice.

There has to be reconciliation, in the twenty first century, a magnanimous acceptance of change.

And may I suggest a clear definitionation between what is politically, domestically achievable

AFTER ALL THESE YEARS!! Nothing will change! Its just gibberish!

He’s been ironic since Tokyo Olympics won’t happen..

You were saying?