Japan-South Korea meetings at ASEAN Summit canceled due to elections

The annual summit between Japan and South Korea that happens on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will not take place when the body meets in Cambodia this year. Sources from the Japanese government say that is due to the uncertainty brought about by the elections next month.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announced that he will be dissolving the parliament?s lower house in preparation for a general election December 16. Both Japan and South Korea will be waiting to see who will be the next prime minister before proceeding with any meeting, according to the unnamed source. South Korea will also be having its elections for a new president in the middle of December. This development came after Manmohan Singh, India?s Prime Minister, decided to cancel his diplomatic visit to Japan because of the elections. The cancellation of the summit will probably delay talks on repairing the ties between the two East Asian countries which has deteriorated because of territorial dispute over the islands known as Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea.

The three great Asian nations of Japan, China, and South Korea have held three-way talks on the sidelines of the annual ASEAN summit meetings. Meetings between Japan and China and Japan and South Korea have regularly taken place in the past years. This year, however, China has not yet organized the meeting, according to a Japanese diplomat. Japan and China are also engaged in a territorial dispute over another group of islands.

[via Asiaone]

Source: http://japandailypress.com/japan-south-korea-meetings-at-asean-summit-canceled-due-to-elections-1818576

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