South Korean former Second Vice Foreign Minister Kim Sung Han, a campaign staff member for the main opposition party's presidential nominee Yoon Suk Yeol, has stressed that the country and Japan should resume so-called shuttle diplomacy, with each nation's leader making reciprocal visits to the other nation.
Kim, a foreign affairs advisor to Yoon, the conservative People Power Party's candidate for the March 9 presidential election, said in a recent interview, "Making use of the geographical benefits, leaders of the two countries could meet once every month or two to recover trust" amid soured relations over wartime compensation.
Shuttle diplomacy between Japan and South Korea had been implemented by several leaders of the two countries including then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and then-South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun in the mid-2000s, but has been suspended for over a decade due to historical disputes.