Economics
Wartime Sex Slave Dispute Resurfaces to Rattle Japan-Korea Ties
- Japan suspends forex talks, temporarily recalls ambassador
- Allies of U.S. continue to cooperate on North Korea threat
A statue of a girl symbolizing the 'comfort women.'
Photographer: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Just an hour after Japan’s first cabinet meeting of the year, the nation’s top government spokesman surprised reporters by firing a diplomatic salvo at South Korea over a longstanding historical dispute that the two U.S. allies had sought to bury only a year ago.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Tokyo had suspended talks with Seoul over a foreign currency swap arrangement; temporarily recalled Japan’s ambassador to South Korea; and halted high-level economic talks between the two nations.