TheYamagata–Lobanov Agreement (山縣・ロバノフ協定,Yamagata-Robanofu Kyōtei)(Russian:Протокол Лобанова — Ямагаты), signed inSaint Petersburg on 9 June 1896, was the third agreement signed between theEmpire of Japan and theEmpire of Russia concerning disputes regarding theirsphere of influence overKorea.
With pro-Japanese and pro-Russian factions within theJoseon 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 ofEmpress Myeongseong,Korean Emperor Gojong had taken refuge in the Russian consulate inSeoul at the invitation of Russian envoyKarl Ivanovich Weber, and Russia had thus attained a paramount influence over Korean politics at the time. This was confirmed in theKomura-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 byYi Wan-yong.
Visiting during thecoronation ceremonies for RussianTsar Nicholas II, the Japanese delegation discussed the growing friction over Korea, and proposed that theKorean peninsula be divided at the39th parallel, should Japanese and Russian troops be forced to occupy Korea. The proposal was rejected, but the concept was resurrected bySoviet premierJoseph Stalin many years later at theYalta Conference negotiations with theUnited States duringWorld War II.[1]
The Yamagata–Lobanov Agreement was signed inSaint Petersburg by ex-Prime Minister of JapanYamagata Aritomo, andRussian Foreign Minister, PrinceAlexei 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 abuffer state between Japan, and Russian interests inManchuria and theRussian Maritime Provinces.[2] The Agreement also stated a joint intention to encourage fiscal reform in Korea, promote the formation of a modernpolice andarmy, and to maintaintelegraph lines.
The Agreement had two non-public provisions. In the first, Japan and Russia affirmed their mutual right to send additional troops to Korea in the event of any major disturbance, and in the second, both countries affirmed their rights to station troops in Korea until such time that Korea had its own modern army equipped to handle such disturbances. When Yamagata agreed to the terms of the agreement with Lobanov, he was unaware that only a few days earlier, the Russians had signed theLi-Lobanov Treaty with China, a de facto alliance against Japan, in which Russia gained unrestricted access toManchuria and a lease over theLiaotung Peninsula.[3]
The Yamagata–Lobanov Agreement was superseded by theNishi-Rosen Agreement of 1898.