South Korea forced labor court ruling

Japan's Kishida and South Korea's Yoon are ready to mend relations, but both leaders face problems back home.

The long unresolved forced labor dispute nears closure, with South Korea deciding to shoulder victim compensation through donations. 

The Yoon administration's plan to resolve forced labor disputes with Japan is already sparking controversy at home.

Ties between the two U.S. Asian allies have long been complicated by grievances related to Japan's brutal rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945.

Why are Japan and South Korea, both U.S. allies and East Asian democracies, continuously at odds over everything from their territorial dispute to wartime labor compensation?

Yoon emphasized his support for “freedom” in a U.N. General Assembly address, but most attention focused on the dimming chances of a summit with Japan’s Kishida Fumio. 

With relatively new governments and a pressing threat from North Korea, the timing to renew Seoul and Tokyo ties is better now than it has been in years.

The Yoon administration has expressed a strong willingness to improve bilateral ties with Japan, but Tokyo seems unwilling to budge on the central issues. 

Park Jin became the first South Korean foreign minister to visit Tokyo since 2019.

With a new consultative body to address forced labor issues, the Yoon administration is seeking to prevent the issues that scuttled the 2015 "comfort women" agreement.

The Seoul Central District Court ruling might help lower temperatures, but a political solution is needed to improve South Korea’s relations with Japan.