Pres. Park hints at first summit with Abe early next month

South Korean President Park Geun-hye will likely have her first summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on November 1 since she took office in February 2013.

During her visit to the United States on Thursday, President Park said a South Korea-China-Japan trilateral summit will take place in Seoul in early November for the first time in three years, adding that she could meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the summit. November 1 is cited as the likely date.

She made the remarks as a response to a question about the prospect for a Seoul-Tokyo summit, after a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank in Washington. She noted that the trilateral summit is "necessary" to maintain peace in Northeast Asia and that improvement of bilateral relations can be achieved through it.

Still, Park stressed the importance of the Japanese government`s sincere change of its attitude toward the World War II sex slavery issue. She noted that the summit would be meaningful only if Seoul and Tokyo turn their relationship into a forward-looking one through the talks. "Once we are able to make progress on the issue, I think it is fair to say that the meeting will lead to progress on other issues and can be characterized as a meaningful meeting," she said.

mhpark@donga.com