Over the past few weeks South Korea has dispatched high-ranking government officials and lawmakers to Japan, seeking a breakthrough in a bilateral relationship characterized by some to be in its worst state since 1965 when diplomatic relations were normalized.
South Korea and especially President Moon Jae-in seem eager to patch up the fractured relations, seizing changes in leadership in Japan and the United States and a summit scheduled to be hosted by Seoul as a golden opportunity to score diplomatic points and boost popularity.
But Japan has remained unmoved by South Korea’s passionate overtures, with the issue of compensation over wartime labor being a sticking point between them.