Here is the latest sign that relations are continuing to improve between Japan and Korea. I guess we will see if it leads to anything positive, but considering how low the popularity is domestically for both leaders they both probably do not have the political capital to get any big deals done:

The summit took place suddenly, as the details had been kept under wraps for days, in the form of Yoon visiting the venue of an event hosted by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in New York.

Yoon and Kishida “agreed on the need to improve bilateral relations by resolving pending issues,” South Korea’s readout of the meeting said. The two agreed to instruct their diplomats to accelerate talks to that end.

Yoon and Kishida also “shared serious concern about North Korea’s nuclear program,” including its recent legalization of nuclear arms and the possibility of a seventh nuclear test, and “agreed to cooperate closely with the international community to respond to it,” according to the readout.

A presidential official hailed the summit as “the first step toward producing tangible results.”

“After two years and 10 months, despite the existence of various disputes between South Korea and Japan, the two leaders met and took the first step toward a resolution. That is why it was highly significant,” the official told reporters in New York.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Please leave anything you want to discuss in the comments section.

This makes me wonder who was coordinating this trip for President Yoon because there is a big difference between a 30 minute meeting and less than a minute:

When Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo said last week that President Yoon Suk-yeol’s summit with U.S. President Joe Biden would be brief ― 30 minutes or so ― many thought that it might be too short to talk about the urgent issues between the two countries. But the meeting in New York City turned out to be even shorter ― far shorter ― than he hoped it would be. At a fundraising event hosted by Biden, Yoon had a standing conversation with him for less than a minute ― 48 seconds, precisely. 

According to Yoon’s office and the White House, Wednesday (local time), Yoon asked Biden to help resolve South Korean companies’ concerns over the Inflation Reduction Act and they reaffirmed their commitment to bolstering the bilateral alliance against North Korea during the conversation. 

The act, passed last month, gives a tax credit to buyers of electric vehicles (EVs) from next January if a minimum of 40 percent of the critical minerals in their batteries are mined or processed in the U.S. or countries that signed free trade agreements in the U.S., or recycled in North America. At least 50 percent of the battery components must also be manufactured or assembled in North America. The law is causing significant concern for Korean automakers.

The news immediately drew criticism from the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), which called the meeting the latest episode of “diplomatic disaster” committed by Yoon.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It appears that President Yoon is not a big fan of the U.S. Congress:

South Korea’s presidential office defended President Yoon Suk-yeol on Thursday after he was caught on video using foul language to apparently refer to U.S. lawmakers.

In the video, Yoon is seen talking with U.S. President Joe Biden at a fundraiser for fighting infectious diseases in New York on Wednesday. As he turns away to leave, he appears to tell his aides with vulgar language that it would be embarrassing for Biden if the National Assembly did not approve of something unspecified.

The clip led to speculation and criticism that Yoon was referring to Biden’s pledge to contribute another US$6 billion to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. His mention of the National Assembly was interpreted as a reference to U.S. Congress.

A senior presidential official said he did not pay attention to the remarks and did not remember them as he was following the president from behind.

“He wasn’t speaking publicly on the stage but in passing, and although I don’t know who recorded it and how, I actually think it should be verified,” the official told reporters in New York.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but this is just another self inflicted political wound that Yoon’s critics can now dwell on for a couple of news cycles. He is already dealing with another self inflicted wound by showing up too late to London to give condolences at Westminster Abbey prior to the funeral for Queen Elizabeth II.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine opinions from experts in Germany I find to be very suspect:

Angela Kane, vice president of the International Institute for Peace (IIP) in Vienna and former U.N. under-secretary-general for management and high representative for disarmament, presented a view about the evolving geopolitical landscape in East Asia that is very different from others. 

Refuting the popular belief that a new Cold War-like confrontation between two sides ― South Korea, the United States and Japan on one side and China, Russia and North Korea on the other ― has been in the making after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, Kane claims China won’t be tempted to make an enemy of the United States or any other countries. 

Like other countries, she said, China is driven by trade interests and will refrain from doing anything that may hurt its economic gains in foreign markets. 

The German expert visited Korea to join the 2022 DMZ Forum held last Friday in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Moon Chung-in, chairman of Sejong Institute think tank, moderated the session in which Kane participated. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but the economic ties that Russia had with Germany and the rest of Europe did not stop it from invading Ukraine. Likewise economic ties are not going to stop China from invading Taiwan once they have the ability to military do so and feel the diplomatic and economic consequences of an invasion can be effectively endured.

The ties to the Unification Church to the Japanese LDP political party has really struck a negative chord with the Japanese people and this is just another example of it:

A man set himself on fire near the Japanese prime minister’s office in Tokyo on Wednesday in an apparent protest against the state funeral planned next week for former leader Shinzo Abe, officials and media reports said.

The man, believed to be in his 70s, sustained burns on large parts of his body but was conscious and told police that he set himself on fire after pouring oil over himself, Kyodo News agency reported.

A note was found with him that said, “Personally, I am absolutely against” Abe’s funeral, Kyodo reported. (……..)

The planned state funeral for Abe has become increasingly unpopular among Japanese as more details emerge about the governing Liberal Democratic Party’s and Abe’s links to the Unification Church, which built close ties with party lawmakers over their shared interests in conservative causes.

The suspect in Abe’s assassination reportedly believed his mother’s large donations to the church ruined his family. The LDP has said nearly half its lawmakers have ties to the church, but party officials have denied ties between the party as an organization and the church.

NPR

You can read more at the link.