WASHINGTON (Kyodo) -- The rekindling of a row between Japan and South Korea over symbols of so-called "comfort women" could hinder efforts to strengthen security cooperation with Washington's two key Asian allies, according to an American scholar versed in Tokyo-Seoul ties.
"Japan-South Korea tensions undermine U.S. interests because robust trilateral coordination is essential for effectively handling North Korea, or even China," Celeste Arrington, an assistant professor of political science at George Washington University, said in a recent interview.
Arrington was referring to renewed tensions between the two neighbors over a statue erected on Dec. 30 in front of the Japanese consulate in Busan, South Korea. The statue, set up by a civic group, represents Korean women forced into work in Japanese wartime brothels.
Japan has recalled its ambassador to South Korea and suspended currency swap talks in protest, saying the erection of the statue -- and the South Korean government's failure to stop it -- ran counter to a landmark 2015 agreement to "finally and irreversibly" resolve the protracted dispute over Japan's treatment of comfort women.
Arrington was speaking ahead of a visit to South Korea and Japan by U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis from Wednesday that the Pentagon said is aimed at underscoring the commitment of the administration of President Donald Trump to "enduring alliances" with the countries.
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