Source: Yonhap News
It is known that Prime Minister Han Deok-soo, who visited Bangkok, Thailand from the 17th to the 20th to attend the APEC Summit, strengthened his friendship with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for three days.
During this APEC period, Prime Minister Han Deok-soo was often caught on camera sitting alongside Prime Minister Kishida or talking closely.
It was the same at the ‘Gala Dinner’ on the evening of the 17th, when the Prime Minister of Thailand and his wife invited heads of state from 21 countries, and both sat next to each other at the two-day APEC plenary session on the 18th and 19th, as well as at a business lunch.
Only US Vice President Kamala Harris was between the two at the six-party emergency meeting of the Korea-US-Japan-Japan Kahoneu, which was suddenly held on the afternoon of the 18th due to North Korea’s ICBM provocation.
The two seem very different, but really, there is no special background here.
APEC is attended by top level figures from as many as 24 countries, including 21 member countries and 3 invited countries.
In a space where many leaders gather in one place, a ‘proper’ seating arrangement is sure to be a problem for which there is no correct answer in the first place among different interests.
Even Taiwan and Hong Kong, which China does not recognize as individual countries, participate in APEC as a single economic unit, making the calculation even more difficult.
Therefore, all APEC does is designate the arrangement of the seats of the heads of state in alphabetical order of registered country names.
I like Japan and Korea, which start with J and K, but I have no choice but to always be by their side. However, just because you are sitting next to each other does not mean that everyone can develop friendships and become close.
Apart from liking each other, the language barrier should be lower than anything else.
Only heads of state are allowed to enter the main APEC conference hall.
Interpreters are not allowed to come in and sit by the summit.
The aim of the APEC plenary is to be a ‘retreat’ for leaders.
Basically, each leader takes a turn to speak in turn, but the APEC member state leaders plenary is a place where it is never awkward for other leaders to interject in the middle of their remarks to ask questions, make comments, or add comments. .
Therefore, for a smooth conversation flow, interpreters are prohibited from being present, and if necessary, the leader inserts an interpretation device in his ears and participates in the conversation.
Prime Minister Han Deok-soo does not find it difficult to speak and listen in English.
About half a year ago, to a joke-like question asking, ‘Are you more comfortable speaking English than Korean?
Prime Minister Han did not bring a translator to APEC at all.
Also, we did not request Korean translation equipment from the organizers.
The Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, accompanied the translator.
At the Six Party Talks press conference, when Prime Minister Kishida spoke in Japanese, a translator delivered the message in English, but Japanese translators were used in the main conference hall where translators were not available.
However, Kishida is a former foreign minister.
It is a recognized fact that plenty of personal exchange is possible in English.
Prime Minister Han said, “When I met with Prime Minister Kishida in Japan, I had almost all official talks, and recently I had a Korea-Japan summit with President Yoon at the G20, so this time I had a lot of ‘talks personal’. ”
He said, “It would have been too difficult to match the schedule to meet the Japanese prime minister in a separate meeting, but in APEC, attendance at the main meeting is standard, and it is held for two hours each.”
Prime Minister Han also presented a small anecdote that reveals the invisible friendship between the two.
“I thought Prime Minister Kishida was working hard, but when I looked at him, it seemed that the simultaneous translation equipment was not available. He worked hard … and he said to me, ‘This is not going well’…” “Is the number 10 Japanese? The seat was empty. So I passed by Kishida myself, picked up an interpreter beside him, and brought him to me. Use this…” Prime Minister Han also presented some of the conversations he had with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“In 2012, when President Xi became president for the first time, he introduced the relationship he had met and greeted at the ‘Boao Forum’ hosted by China, and congratulated him on being reappointed for the third time . “It was very helpful,” he said. He said.
However, in the case of President Xi, he expressed regret that he had to wait for a Chinese translator to have a conversation, so it was not easy to have a free conversation.
Prime Minister Han said that meeting Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince bin Salman for two consecutive days was his most memorable meeting with the leader.
When Crown Prince Bin Salman visited Korea early on the 17th, Prime Minister Han greeted him at Seoul Airport, and on the next day, on the 18th, he had a business lunch in Bangkok, Thailand.
Prime Minister Han said, “I went to lunch a little late because I was going to work on my bilateral schedule, but Crown Prince Bin Salman was there.” Prime Minister Han said, “I really liked (Crown Prince Bin Salman) and he was very happy to visit Korea.”
