President Moon Jae-in (right) talks with Nikai Toshihiro, a member of the Liberal Democratic Party who was dispatched as a special envoy to Korea by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, at Cheong Wa Dae on June 12.

By Sohn JiAe
Photos = Cheong Wa Dae

President Moon Jae-in welcomed a delegation of special envoys dispatched by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Cheong Wa Dae on June 12. They talked about issues of mutual interest.

Mentioning a handwritten letter from the prime minister that he received from Nikai Toshihiro, leader of the delegation, President Moon said, “Denuclearization in North Korea is crucial for the sake of world peace and peace across Northeast Asia, and, also, for the sake of the survival of South Korea.”

“I agree with what the prime minister pointed out: stronger pressure and sanctions need to be put on Pyongyang so as to completely free the regime from nuclear weapons,” the president said.

Noting that the number of Koreans and Japanese visiting the other country surpassed 7 million last year, President Moon said, “Shuttle diplomacy between our two governments will get back on tract and, also, human-to-human exchanges will continue to grow.”

As for historical thorny issues, including the settlement of the issues concerning people forced into sexual slavery by Japanese imperial soldiers, the so-called "comfort women,” President Moon said, “Such historical issues discomfort and drag down the Korea-Japan relationship. I don’t expect these issues to be settled immediately. It’s important that, first of all, Japan understand how the Korean people feel, and then the two countries could work together to solve the issues.”

President Moon Jae-in (right) shakes hands with Japanese special envoy Nikai Toshihiro at Cheong Wa Dae on June 12.

In response, the Japanese envoy said, “I fully agree with what you just said. Our two nations need to cooperate for mutual prosperity. I will work with a sense of responsibility to turn what we’ve talked about today into reality.”

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