The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir

by John Bolton

After more North Korea discussions, Trump asked how relations were with Japan. We all saw the increasing difficulties between Tokyo and Seoul, which would worsen rapidly in the next few months. Moon was trying to upend a 1965 treaty between the two countries. That treaty aimed, certainly in Japan’s view, to put an end to the animosities created by Japan’s colonial rule over Korea from 1905 to 1945, especially World War II’s hardships and the well-known “comfort women” issue. Moon said that history should not interfere with the future of relationships, but, from time to time, Japan made it an issue. Of course, it wasn’t Japan that was raising the history, but Moon, for his own purposes. My view was that, like other South Korean political leaders, Moon tried to make Japan an issue when times at home were difficult.