The 1960s Korea-Japan Talks and the Settlement of the Claims Issue : Focusing on the Role of U.S. Ambassadors to Korea and Japan

This study examines the settlement of the “claims issue”, a central point of contention in the 1960s Korea-Japan talks, focusing on the roles and perceptions of the U.S. Ambassadors to Korea and Japan. During the 1960s, the United States shifted its foreign aid policy to alleviate its own financial burden and leverage Japan’s economic power for Asian development. In this process, the claims issue was transformed from a legal framework for settling the colonial past into a political compromise defined as “economic cooperation,” with U.S. Ambassadors intervening deeply as practical mediators and messengers.<br/> In particular, this paper highlights the activities of Samuel D. Berger, U.S. Ambassador to Korea, and Edwin O. Reischauer, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, who implemented “modernization theory” in the field. While sharing the strategic mandates of the U.S. government, the two ambassadors employed diverging diplomatic strategies based on their hierarchical perceptions of each nation. Ambassador Berger perceived Korea as a target for development and modernization, using aid and military support as leverage to exert strong pressure. In contrast, Ambassador Reischauer treated Japan as an equal partner, performing a cautious coordinating role that accounted for Japan’s domestic political climate.<br/> Consequently, by adapting Washington’s directives to local contexts, the two ambassadors played a decisive role in redefining the nature of the claims funds as resources for economic development. This suggests that the normalization of Korea-Japan relations was a strategic product of the construction of a U.S.-led East Asian order. This study is significant in that it elucidates the specific pathways through which the individual perceptions and actions of policy implementers influenced the normalization of Korea-Japan relations.