Former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Kathleen Stephens has suggested that President Lee Jae-myung could look to former President Kim Dae-jung’s approach to Japan as a “good model.”

Speaking at a seminar hosted by the Korea Economic Institute of America(KEI) in Washington on Friday, Stephens praised the late President Kim for making historic progress in improving South Korea’s relationship with Japan.

She noted that the former Kim administration was very skilled in foreign policy and in managing ties with both allied nations and Japan, adding that she believes Kim's approach could offer good lessons for the new Seoul government in many ways.

The most recent U.S. ambassador to South Korea, Philip Goldberg, also weighed in, mentioning how Seoul secured an apology from Tokyo over colonial-era issues in the 1998 Joint Declaration between Kim and then-Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi.

Goldberg said the Lee government now faces a big challenge of restoring ties with China, while also maintaining its alliance with the U.S. and the trilateral cooperation also involving Japan.