Tokyo, May 2 (IANS) Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he is planning to make a two-day visit to South Korea early next week to meet President Yoon Suk Yeol, as the two nations improve bilateral ties in the face of North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, the media reported on Tuesday.
According to Japan’s Kyodo News, the upcoming visit, which will take place on May 7-8, will be a “good opportunity” for the two sides to “frankly exchange opinions” on ways to develop South Korea-Japan relations and how to handle the rapidly changing global security environment, Kishida told reporters.
Yoon and Kishida are expected to discuss ways to strengthen their security cooperation to counter growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea, Yonhap News Agency quoted Kyodo News as saying.
They are also likely to agree on the need to bolster trilateral cooperation among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo for stronger nuclear deterrence against the North.
Yoon held a summit with Kishida in Tokyo in March in the wake of his government’s decision to compensate Korean victims of Japanese wartime forced labour without contributions from Japanese firms.
He was the first South Korean president in 12 years to make a bilateral visit to Japan, as bilateral relations had been strained over a series of historical disputes stemming from Tokyo’s 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
The two leaders agreed during their summit to resume shuttle diplomacy, or regular visits to each other’s country.
The last visit by a Japanese Prime Minister to South Korea was made by Shinzo Abe in February 2018.
–IANS
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