Yoon hopes S. Korea, US, Japan will further strengthen coordination on Korean Peninsula issues

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol said Friday he hopes South Korea, the United States and Japan will further strengthen coordination on Korean Peninsula issues as he spoke by phone with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Yoon talked with Kishida two days after his election, saying he hopes the two sides will work together to promote "friendly cooperative" ties between their countries.

"South Korea and Japan have many future tasks on which we need to work together, such as security in Northeast Asia and economic prosperity," Yoon said, according to a written briefing by his spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye.

Yoon "stressed the importance of resolving pending issues between the two countries in a rational manner in line with our mutual interests, and expressed hope that South Korea, the United States and Japan will further strengthen coordination on Korean Peninsula issues once he takes office," Kim said.

Yoon and Kishida also discussed the need to increase exchanges and cultural understanding between the young people of the two countries and agreed to work to arrange a summit meeting at an early date after Yoon's inauguration.

Kishida congratulated Yoon on his election victory, and the president-elect thanked him and offered his condolences over Friday's 11th anniversary of the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck eastern Japan. (Yonhap)