South Korea to restore Japan’s trade status to improve ties

By HYUNG-JIN KIM
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol says his government will take steps to restore Japan’s preferential trade status. Yoon said leaving ties with Japan as fraught as they are would be a neglect of his presidential duty. He said greater bilateral cooperation is vital to resolve diverse challenges facing Seoul. The fraught relations stem from Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, and Yoon’s bid to resolve their disputes has been met with domestic opposition. He said at a Cabinet Council meeting Tuesday that the need to boost ties with Japan has grown because of North Korea’s advancing nuclear program, the intensifying U.S.-China strategic rivalry and global supply chain challenges.