President Yoon Suk Yeol met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Sunday and called for joint efforts to make a “historic leap” in bilateral relations as the two nations mark the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties next year.
Kishida was on a two-day visit to South Korea for separate meetings with Yoon and Chinese Premier Li Qiang, with their tripartite session slated for Monday.
It marks Kishida’s first visit to South Korea in a year since their bilateral summit held in Seoul, which has led to a dramatic warming of bilateral relations and the resumption of “shuttle diplomacy” between the leaders. Over the past year, the two leaders have held nine in-person meetings on bilateral and multilateral platforms.
Yoon said he wants to build on the positive momentum to further develop relations with Tokyo.
“Based on these achievements, I hope we can work together to prepare for a historic leap forward in our bilateral relations when the two countries mark the 60th anniversary of the n
ormalization of diplomatic relations, ” Yoon said in his opening remarks.
Kishida expressed his hope for continued collaboration between Japan and South Korea to tackle global challenges.
“At this historical turning point for the international community, I hope that Korea and Japan can further strengthen our cooperation to effectively address global challenges while maintaining and reinforcing a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Kishida said through a translator.
Bilateral ties have improved significantly under Yoon, following his administration’s decision last year to compensate Korean victims of Japanese wartime forced labor without seeking contributions from the Japanese companies involved.
Building on the thaw in diplomatic relations, the leaders of the United States, South Korea and Japan held their first standalone summit at Camp David in August 2023, where they agreed to step up security cooperation against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.
It is their first meeting in six months after they me
t on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco.
Source: Yonhap News Agency