Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea

The Master Agreement between Japan and the Republic of Korea, also known as the Basic Treaty between the Republic of Korea and Japan, was signed on June 22, 1965 in Tokyo to establish diplomatic relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea ( South Korea). After ratification by both States, he entered into force on 18 December 1965.

Korea was annexed in 1910 and colonized by the Japanese Empire. One of the successor states after the independence of the Korean peninsula after the end of World War II, South Korea. From this background out the relations between the two countries are still up to the present time strongly biased. The master agreement was an important step towards the normalization of relations. In 1951 the first Präliminarkonferenz between the two countries has already taken place for the normalization of diplomatic relations, and from the following year a further seven conferences were held.

In the basic treaty, which was concluded as a result of these negotiations in 1965, it was confirmed that all contracts " between the Japanese Empire and the Korean Empire on and before August 22, 1910, are null and void " and that the government of the Republic of Korea, " the only legitimate [ Korean ] government. "

During the negotiations, the positions of the two countries diverged in the discussion of the validity of the Japanese -Korean Annexation Treaty of August 22, 1910 at the furthest, a Japanese colony had become by the Korea. Japan represented ( and represents ) the view that the annexation agreement had become invalid until the entry into force of the Treaty of San Francisco, bringing the legitimacy of the annexation of Korea by the Japanese Empire would be given. South Korea took ( and takes ) to today 's position is that the annexation treaty itself also is not valid because the signing took place on Japanese pressure and was therefore illegal.

Finally an ambiguity was selected in the Master Agreement, which is interpreted differently by the two countries to this day. It was noted that the annexation treaty of 1910 " already null and void" and both sides agreed tacitly that each according to their own views, this formulation could be interpreted. This result was caused by the situation of the Cold War, in which both Japan and South Korea, were forced by the U.S. to normalize their relations and had come to a conclusion.

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