SEOUL • If the preparations for US President Donald Trump’s state dinner in Seoul were any sign, he faces an uphill battle in trying to improve the often fractious ties between South Korea and Japan..
SEOUL • If the preparations for US President Donald Trump’s state dinner in Seoul were any sign, he faces an uphill battle in trying to improve the often fractious ties between South Korea and Japan.
While the menu for the four-course state banquet last night had grilled sole, Mr Trump’s favourite fish, it also featured shrimp caught in the waters off Dokdo, the South Korea-controlled islands also claimed by Japan, which calls them Takeshima.
In another jab at Tokyo, a woman forced to work as a sex slave for the Japanese military during World War II was invited to the dinner.
One of Mr Trump’s goals on the trip was to boost trilateral cooperation between the United States, Japan and South Korea in the face of threats from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and China’s growing dominance in the Asia-Pacific.
