Chances rise for summit between S.Korea and Japan

SEOUL -- Chances are rising that South Korean President Park Geun-hye sits down face-to-face with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe under the arbitration of US President Barack Obama in The Hague, the Netherlands next week.

Kim Jang-soo, top security advisor to President Park, held a meeting Wednesday afternoon with related security ministers to discuss whether to agree on the trilateral summit between South Korea, Japan and the United States, which Japan has reportedly hoped to hold on the sidelines of the Hague Nuclear Security Summit slated for next Monday and Tuesday, according to local media reports on Thursday.

Possibilities for the trilateral summit became higher after Abe said last Friday that his cabinet will inherit the Kono and Murayama statements, or past apologies for the militaristic Japan' s sex slavery and wartime aggression.

President Park welcomed Abe's comments for the first time since her inauguration in February last year, but Seoul urged Tokyo to take sincere actions to let the bilateral summit be held, saying Japan's action to solve the "comfort women" issue will be required.

South Korea has demanded the Abe cabinet's official apology and compensation for the "comfort women" victims. The comfort woman is a euphemism for young women coerced into sex slavery for the Japanese military brothels during the World War II.

Washington expressed concerns over Abe's attitude toward history as frayed ties between Seoul and Tokyo led to growing uncertainties about a three-way security alliance between the three allies, denting Obama's "pivot to Asia" policy.

After Russia accepted the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol as its territory on Tuesday, the United States might have wanted to make one voice with its two Asian allies by taking the opportunity of the nuclear security summit in The Hague.

If Park finally agrees on it, the trilateral summit will be held in the form of President Obama's inviting the heads of its two major allies, according to local media reports.

A presidential official told Xinhua that nothing has been decided yet on whether to hold the trilateral summit. "If the summit is to be held, South Korea may benefit from its participation into international cooperation through the multilateral summit, while sending its message to Japan that the bilateral summit is left behind due to Japan's perception of history," Jo YangHyeon, professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy (KNDC), told Xinhua.

Jo said that Abe may have felt strong need for improved relations with South Korea and China as Japan has been isolated from the international community over the past 14 months due to the historical issues, forecasting Tokyo will pursue enhanced ties with China in the long term.