South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s decision to forgo attending the Tokyo Olympics, thereby missing a chance to meet with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, has highlighted the increasingly slim prospects that the two neighbors can quickly bridge their differences after years of festering grievances over historical, political and economic issues.
Instead, both sides find themselves at a stalemate, making it even less likely that ties will improve anytime soon. The situation is particularly troublesome for the United States, which is counting on unity between the two to build a united front against China and North Korea.
Moon had reportedly been expected to arrive Friday, the day of the opening ceremony, and meet with Suga for their first face-to-face summit talks — a possible step toward reinvigorating the relationship between the two neighbors.