US knows Japan at fault on row with Korea

Amb. Ahn Ho-young (Photo : NEWSis)

Korean Ambassador to the U.S. Ahn Ho-young said Friday that Washington is aware that Japan is primarily responsible for the ongoing diplomatic standoff between Korea and Japan.

“For the United States, Korea and Japan are two key allies and therefore it is very difficult for Washington to take one’s side,” he said during a news briefing.

Ahn is in Seoul for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ annual meeting of Korean ambassadors and chiefs of missions abroad.

He cited a transcript of a press briefing where remarks were made by Jake Sullivan, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s national security advisor, and Daniel Russel, deputy assistant secretary of state.

Ahn quoted the two U.S. officials as saying that there are plenty of problems in Korea-Japan relations that are caused by unfortunate history, and Japan needs to make the first move in trying to resolve the situation.

He interpreted those remarks as evidence of what Washington thinks regarding Korea-Japan relations.

“(Regarding Korea’s trilateral summit with the United States and Japan last month), the expression of demand is inappropriate among sovereign states. The summit talk was held because all three sides felt that discussing the common security threat facing them through such a format on the sidelines of the multilateral meeting would be meaningful,” he said.

Regarding President Barack Obama’s upcoming visit to Korea, Ahn said issues like security cooperation, trade, diplomatic cooperation and human-to-human exchanges will be on the agenda. By Kang Hyun-kyung, The Korea Times