'Pro-Japanese' smear disappointing, critics say, as Seoul and Tokyo rebuild ties with naval drills

Comments denouncing the South Korean government as "pro-Japanese" are "regrettable", critics say, as the two countries seek to rebuild ties amid the resumption of joint military exercises.

Lee Jae-myung, chairman of the Democratic Party, on Monday accused President Yoon Suk-yeol's administration of an "extreme pro-Japanese act" and of overseeing a "defence disaster" after South Korean warships took part in a series of naval drills with units from the United States and Japan in late September.

Despite North Korea firing seven ballistic missiles in the space of 15 days, including an intermediate-range missile that flew over northern Japan, Lee said he anticipated a time when Japanese forces could be stationed in South Korea and "The Red Sun flag flies on the Korean peninsula".

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Lee, who lost to Yoon in the presidential election in March, accused the government of "crow-eating diplomacy towards Japan", adding that the drills could be "interpreted as acknowledging Japan's Self-Defence Forces as an official military".

Lee's comments drew flak, with Chung Jin-suk, the head of the ruling People Power Party, on Tuesday describing them as "a frivolous take on history".

The Japanese government has made no comment on Lee's criticism, although an official of the National Institute for Defence Studies (NIDS) said they were "disappointing" but not that surprising, despite the threat posed by an increasingly belligerent North Korea and the need for like-minded governments in the region to pool their resources.

"It is odd that some people still claim Japan intends to invade Korea again, but I think most people in Japan have got used to these sorts of illogical accusations against Japan, based on their particular point of view [of history]," said the official, who declined to be identified.

"It is also difficult to believe that those on the far left of the political spectrum insist that North Korea is their natural ally over other nations and that the North poses no real threat to the South."

James Brown, an associate professor of international relations at the Tokyo campus of Temple University, said the left in South Korea, "have persistently taken a hard line against Japan, putting emotions ahead of national security".

Nearly 80 years after imperial Japan was defeated and its troops fled from the Korean peninsula, it is "regrettable that instead of taking measures in favour of South Korea's national interest, including more comprehensive defences against North Korea and China, this is still the position of some", Brown said.

A section of the South Korean electorate unwilling to put the two nations' shared history behind them would become "a quite useful stick with which to beat the current president", Brown said, with Yoon having taken a far firmer line on North Korea since coming to power earlier this year.

And while ethnic nationalism on the far left in South Korea means that more faith is placed in Pyongyang than Tokyo, Brown points out that a firm line on South Korea is often an equally effective vote-winner among Japanese politicians come election time.

Lee's attack comes at an unfortunate time for Yoon, who has been busy building bridges with Tokyo after relations fell to new lows under the administration of President Moon Jae-in. Yoon has met Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in person and a number of his most senior officials have similarly held talks with their Japanese counterparts.

In addition to the resumption of joint security manoeuvres, it appears that there may also be positive developments on trade in the coming weeks and months.

"Tokyo is very much hoping that Yoon takes a different direction from his predecessor and that the bilateral relationship with Japan can be improved, as well as the trilateral alliance with the US," the NIDS official said.

"The position here is that the biggest threats come from North Korea and China and we need to work with all the countries in the region to face those challenges."

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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