Yamagata-Lobanov Agreement

The nihongo|Yamagata-Lobanov Agreement|山縣・ロバノフ協定|Yamagata-Robanofu Kyōtei, signed on 9 June 1896, was the second of three agreements signed between the Empire of Japan and the Empire of Russia concerning disputes regarding their sphere of influence over Korea.

With pro-Japanese and pro-Russian factions within the Joseon dynasty competing for power, the increasingly unstable political situation in Korea was endangering the economic and strategic interests of both Japan and Russia. After the assassination of Empress Myeongseong, Korean Emperor Gojong had taken refuge in the Russian consulate in Seoul at the invitation of Russian envoy Karl Ivanovich Weber, and Russia had thus attained a paramount influence over Korean politics at the time. This was confirmed in the Komura-Waeber Memorandum, which granted Russia the right to station four companies of troops in Korea, and required that Japan recognize Korea's new "pro-Russian faction" cabinet led by Yi Wan-yong.

Visiting during the coronation ceremonies for Russian Tsar Nicholas II,the Japanese delegation discussed the growing friction over Korea, and proposed that the Korean peninsula be divided at the 38th parallel, should Japanese and Russian troops be forced to occupy Korea. The proposal was rejected, but the concept was resurrected by Soviet premier Joseph Stalin many years later at the Yalta Conference negotiations with the United States during World War II. [Kim, The History of Korea, page 114 ]

The Yamagata-Lobanov Agreement was signed in Saint Petersburg by ex-Prime Minister of Japan Yamagata Aritomo, and Russian Foreign Minister, Prince Alexei Lobanov-Rostovsky. The Agreement in effect guaranteed Korean independence through a tacit co-protectorate maintained by both Japan and Russia, with the aim of preserving Korea as a buffer state between Japan, and Russian interests in Manchuria and the Russian Maritime Provinces. [ Gills, Korea versus Korea, page 26 ] The Agreement also stated a joint intention to encourage fiscal reform in Korea, promote the formation of a modern police and army, and to maintain telegraph lines.

The Yamagata-Lobanov Agreement was superseded by the Nishi-Rosen Agreement of 1898.

References

*cite book
last = Duus
first = Peter
coauthors =
year = 1998
title = The Abacus and the Sword: The Japanese Penetration of Korea, 1895-1910
publisher = University of California Press
location =
id = ISBN 0520213610
*cite book
last = Gills
first = Barry
coauthors =
year = 1996
title = Korea versus Korea: A Case of Contested Legitimacy
publisher = Routledge
location =
id = ISBN 0415142318
*cite book
last = Kim
first = Djun Il
coauthors =
year = 2005
title = The History of Korea
publisher = Greenwood Press
location =
id = ISBN 0313332967

Notes