By Kang Seung-woo

Amid growing voices from the United States on the importance of its trilateral cooperation with South Korea and Japan over North Korea and China issues, Seoul has offered conciliatory gestures to Tokyo to normalize their broken relationship, only to get a lukewarm response.

As a last resort, the South Korean government is now soliciting the U.S. to play a role in mediating their diplomatic dispute, as highlighted by Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, who said on Feb. 18 that South Korea and Japan might seek help from the U.S. if needed to address their protracted historical disputes. His remarks are raising questions over how much the Biden administration will get involved, and furthermore, what Japan's response will be.