The first message from the ruling People Power Party’s freshly elected leaders highlighted stronger ties with other democracies, most notably Japan, with which the conservative Yoon Suk Yeol administration is determined to mend relations.

Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, who won the chairpersonship with 52.9 percent of the votes from registered party members, said in a first meeting of the new party leaders on Thursday that Yoon’s plan to compensate South Koreans enslaved by colonial Japan with local funds was “future oriented.”

The plan, announced earlier this week, entails compensating the South Korean victims through a locally funded foundation, rather than Japanese companies.

“This is not to say that I believe that Japan’s apology and reparations to the victims of wartime forced labor have been sufficient,” Kim said. “The plan is a step forward in resolving the historical dispute to improve relations for the future generations of both countries, and one which is also welcomed by our allies, including the US and the EU.”

Addressing the party convention on Wednesday, Yoon underscored trilateral security cooperation between South Korea, Japan and the US.

“Trilateral cooperation between South Korea, the US and Japan is critical now more than ever to respond to emerging security crises, including the North Korea’s nuclear threats,” the president said.

In a press conference held immediately following his election as the party’s head on Wednesday, Kim echoed the president’s remarks.

“If Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is any warning, South Korea must strengthen its cooperation with other democracies and that includes Japan,” he said.

Speaking at Thursday’s meeting, Rep. Tae Yong-ho said he was “determined to use (his) position” as one of the party’s leaders to support the administration’s North Korea and unification initiatives.

Tae secured one of the five seats of the party’s supreme council to become the first North Korean defector to take on the leadership role. The former North Korean diplomat, who defected to Seoul in 2016, is also the first defector to be directly elected into South Korea’s National Assembly.

Lee Jin-bok, the senior secretary to Yoon on political affairs, said in a meeting with Kim and the rest of the new leadership the same day that the president was “busy working on lots of diplomatic issues.”

“(Yoon) needs the Assembly’s support,” he said.

Most of the meetings proceeded behind closed doors.