Busan: President Lee Jae Myung held summit talks Tuesday with outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in the southeastern city of Busan, where the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and to cooperate amid a shifting global trade order.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the meeting came about a month after Lee’s visit to Tokyo, marking the first visit in 21 years by a Japanese leader to a location other than Seoul. In their third meeting, Lee emphasized that Seoul and Tokyo should face history while pursuing “future-oriented” cooperation to address shared challenges such as low birth rates and an aging population.

Lee outlined his government’s policy initiative to ease tension and build trust on the Korean Peninsula to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue and sought Japan’s cooperation, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung stated in a briefing. The two leaders reaffirmed their firm commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of lasting peace, as noted by Kang.

The leaders agreed on the necessity for closer coordination amid a shifting geographical environment and global trade order, and to expand cooperation to new areas, including collaboration on the Arctic shipping route. Lee expressed optimism that the two Asian neighbors could work together to tackle shared social challenges, such as overconcentration in the capital region, and proposed frequent meetings to establish “shuttle diplomacy.”

In his opening remarks, Lee expressed a desire for the two countries to forge a close relationship that would extend beyond social issues to encompass economic and security matters, as well as emotional understanding. Ishiba, on his first visit to South Korea since taking office in October last year, remarked on the significance of concluding his final diplomatic engagement as prime minister with a summit with Lee.

Ishiba expressed a desire for Korea and Japan to work closely together, maintain frequent exchanges, and achieve tangible outcomes through shuttle diplomacy. He also expressed hope that the two countries would share experiences to tackle common challenges such as population decline, low birth rates, overconcentration in the capital region, and low self-sufficiency in agriculture and energy.

Following the talks, Lee and Ishiba issued a joint document on the operation of consultative groups to address shared social challenges. The two sides agreed to continue discussions on issues including low birth rates, an aging population, balanced national development, agriculture, disaster prevention, and suicide prevention. They also agreed that respective ministries would hold regular consultations through bilateral diplomatic channels to expand cooperation.

Before the summit, Ishiba paid tribute at the grave of Lee Soo-hyun, a South Korean student remembered as a symbol of friendly bilateral relations for his selfless attempt to save a Japanese man. It was the first time a sitting Japanese prime minister visited the grave of the late student who died at 26 trying to rescue a Japanese man who had fallen onto subway tracks in Tokyo in 2001. This summit marked their third meeting after talks on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Canada in June and Lee’s visit to Tokyo in August.