The United States has welcomed the announcement of Japan and South Korea that bilateral discussions between the two nations to resolve historical issues have concluded, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a press briefing on March 6 (local time).

Ned Price praised the leadership of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. He stressed that the two leaders have showcased “bold vision” for decisions on historic resolutions. “We’ve heartily welcomed the announcement between these two allies of ours, Japan and the ROK. These issues of history are difficult. They are complex. They are complicated. But both President Yoon, Prime Minister Kishida have demonstrated bold vision. They have demonstrated courageous leadership by taking this step forward,” Ned Price said.

Highlighting US ties with Japan and South Korea, Ned Price said that the US has a “rock-solid” relationship with both nations. He stated that they have sought from this administration to advance and deepen the trilateral partnership.

“The United States is an ally to both of these countries. We have a rock-solid bilateral relationship with both Japan and the ROK, Ned Price said.

Ned Price said that the US is making efforts as the trilateral relationship is critical to a vision that Washington shares with both nations for a “free and open Indo-Pacific.” He spoke about the importance of trilateral cooperation in terms of the challenges that are posed by North Korea.

“We’re doing that because the trilateral relationship is critical to a vision we share with both countries for a free and open Indo-Pacific. You can talk about in terms of specific issues, in terms of the importance of trilateral cooperation on the challenges that are posed by the DPRK, but it’s also in some ways broader than that,” Ned Price said.

He further said, “These are countries with whom we share interests, we share values, and at the crux of both those interests and those values is that very same vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.” He stated that the US is going to continue to remain a partner for both nations as they continue to take additional steps.

Responding to the question regarding the Japanese government’s announcement of starting a process to lift restrictions on semiconductor material export to South Korea, Price said, “These are questions for the governments of the ROK and Japan themselves.” He stated that the US supports any effort that seeks to improve and advance ties between Japan and South Korea.

South Korea has proposed a plan to resolve a colonial era dispute by compensating over a dozen victims of Japan’s wartime forced labour through a Seoul-backed public foundation, Yonhap News Agency reported Monday.

South Korea’s Foreign Minister Park Jin announced the proposal with the intention to resolve the issue of compensating 15 Koreans who won legal battles against two Japanese firms accused of mobilizing them for hard labour during the second world war.