State Department says strong trilateral relationships among S. Korea, U.S., Japan enhance regional peace

WASHINGTON, March 1 (Yonhap) -- "Strong, close" relationships among South Korea, the United States and Japan advance their shared goals of regional peace, the U.S. State Department said Monday, after President Moon Jae-in renewed his desire to mend ties with Tokyo strained over wartime history.

"The Biden Administration is committed to strengthening U.S. alliance relationships, particularly with our key Northeast Asian allies Japan and the Republic of Korea," a State Department spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency via email.

"The ROK and Japan are both close friends and allies of the United States, and strong, close relationships among our three countries promote our shared goals of peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and across the Indo-Pacific," the spokesperson added. ROK stands for South Korea's official name, Republic of Korea.

In his national address marking the 1919 Independence Movement against Japanese colonial rule, Moon said that Korea is ready to talk with Japan anytime to promote stronger cooperation separate from long-simmering historical disputes.

His olive branch came as the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has stressed the importance of its trilateral cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo amid its intensifying strategic competition with China.

The Moon administration has also sought to enlist Japan's cooperation in creating fresh opportunities to reengage with North Korea, amid expectations that the Tokyo Olympics, slated for this year, could set the mood for the resumption of dialogue with Pyongyang.

Korea and Japan have been caught in protracted rows over the thorny issues of Tokyo's wartime sexual slavery and forced labor, and its export restrictions.

sshluck@yna.co.kr
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