The state visit to Japan by South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun -- the first since he took office in February -- has produced a positive result: a mutual commitment to develop future-oriented relations. In a joint statement issued Saturday, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and President Roh also agreed not to allow North Korea to possess or develop nuclear weapons and to resolve the issue peacefully and diplomatically. That agreement complements similar accords the two leaders reached with U.S. President George W. Bush in May.
The Roh visit has highlighted the mutuality of interests that bind Japan and South Korea, close neighbors that share basic values such as a commitment to democracy and market-based economies. Relations between the two nations have improved markedly over the past year, thanks in part to their successful cohosting of the soccer World Cup 2002. Now they have a great opportunity to cooperate more closely to build a new order of peace in all of East Asia.
The latest Japan-South Korea summit -- the first was held in Seoul at the time of Mr. Roh's February inauguration -- was also successful from an educational standpoint. Until recently President Roh was largely an unknown quantity for most Japanese. It is welcome, therefore, that the Tokyo meeting has established a personal relationship of trust between Mr. Koizumi and Mr. Roh. This can be expected to help set the tone of bilateral relations, at least during Mr. Roh's five-year term.