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Blue House Spokesperson Ko Min-jung
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Spokesperson calls on Tokyo to adhere to “minimum line” of diplomacy
The Blue House sent a message on July 22 calling for “adherence to a minimum line” in response to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s remarks the day before insisting that South Korea produce a “decent answer” on Japan’s export controls. When asked by a reporter that day for the Blue House’s position on Abe’s remarks, Spokesperson Ko Min-jung replied, “[Abe] said that no constructive discussions would take place unless South Korea produced a ‘decent answer,’ and this raises the question of whether South Korea has ever failed to provide a decent answer.” In an appearance the day before during the privately run Asahi TV network’s coverage of the vote count for the House of Councillors election, Abe said the export controls were “intended not as retaliatory measures but for the sake of trade management in terms of guaranteeing security.” “I’d like for South Korea to respond in good faith for the sake of building a relationship of trust. South Korea needs to produce a decent answer,” he said at the time. Rebutting Abe’s remarks, Ko said the South Korean government “has always responded and called for examination [by an international agency] of the issues of forced labor mobilization and North Korea smuggling, and it has clearly explained the basis for the Supreme Court ruling on forced conscription.” “We have remained consistent with our position that South Korea-Japan relations should proceed according to two separate tracks, past and future,” she added. Ko also pointed to the lack of consistency in the Japanese government’s position. “In terms of the export control issue now, [the Japanese government first] called it a ‘security issue,’ then said it was a ‘history issue,’ then said it was a ‘security issue’ again, and now they’re talking about historical issues today,” she said. “For the sake of the public on both sides, we need to adhere to a minimum line and make our best efforts, if only for the sake of future cooperation between South Korea and Japan,” she stressed. By Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
