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President Yoon Suk Yeol shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Korea-Japan summit held at a hotel in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on Nov. 13, 2022. (local time). (Presidential office) |
President Yoon Suk Yeol will hold a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida next week, as he is set to visit the neighboring country with first lady Kim Keon Hee, the presidential office said Thursday.
This is the first visit by a Korean president to Japan in about four years since former President Moon Jae-in visited Osaka in June 2019 to attend the Group of 20 summit. It is also the first time in 11 years and 3 months that a Korean president participates in a bilateral summit in Japan since the meeting between former President Lee Myung-bak and former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in December 2011.
The two-day visit is scheduled from March 16-17 at the invitation of the Japanese government. Seoul and Tokyo are currently coordinating the details of the presidential trip, South Korean officials said in a written statement.
The two first ladies will have separate fellowship events, they added.
Expectations are high for the two leaders to discuss bolstering bilateral ties in various fields including security, economy, society and culture, the presidential office said, noting that it is aimed at putting historic disputes behind them and bringing the focus to future ties.
The summit announcement comes after Seoul and Tokyo agreed on a deal in which South Korea would compensate Korean laborers forced to work in Japanese factories during World War II, despite mounting opposition from the victims and opposition parties. The proposal was aimed at resolving a colonial-era grievance that has long strained the relationship between the key US allies in Asia.
Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told the press that the South Korean leader will be making a working trip to the country.
Korea is an important neighbor to cooperate with in responding to various challenges faced by the international community, he said, expressing hopes for bilateral ties to advance further.
During Yoon's trip to Tokyo, the two countries are expected to discuss regional security related to North Korea's nuclear threats and resuming military information sharing.
