Park Geun-hye Pays Courtesy Call on Koizumi

Park Geun-hye, head of the opposition Grand National Party (GNP), met Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and discussed bilateral issues between the two countries during her visit to Japan on March 8.

Park touched upon a series of past history issues, such as Japanese leaders’ controversial visits to the Yasukuni shrine, the territorial dispute over the islet of Dokdo and Japanese history textbooks that whitewash its wartime atrocities, and said, “It is time for political leaders to show their leadership and considerate behavior.”

She mentioned Koizumi’s creed that nothing works out without belief and said, “Trust and belief are the most essential part of our lives. They are also required of individuals and relationships between countries.”

Koizumi said that he completely agreed with the idea and would try to pursue the values in building cooperation. He also expressed his will to try hard to fulfill Park’s request for resolving bilateral issues, said Lee Jae-chun, GNP commissioner for international affairs.

Chin-Ku Lee sys1201@donga.com