S. Korea Pres. Lee Arranging Early Visit to Japan
Seoul, July 3 (Jiji Press)--South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said Thursday that he is working to arrange an early visit to Japan, hoping to continue the two countries' "shuttle diplomacy," or mutual visits by their leaders.
With the two nations commemorating this year the 60th anniversary of diplomatic normalization, Lee also voiced his hope that Tokyo and Seoul will release a new bilateral statement. Like the 1998 Japan-South Korea joint declaration, which called on the two countries to build a future-oriented relationship, the East Asian neighbors need to clearly depict their relations, he added.
He made these remarks at a press conference held in Seoul to mark a month since he took office on June 4.
Lee held his first in-person meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba later in June, on the sidelines of the summit of the Group of Seven major countries in Canada, to which the South Korean leader was invited as a guest.
Lee said that he proposed to Ishiba the continuation of the shuttle diplomacy and that he hopes to reduce misunderstandings between South Korea and Japan, and promote bilateral cooperation through mutual visits and dialogue.
The president said he wanted to visit Japan early but that the Japanese side became busy due to the House of Councillors election scheduled for July 20, indicating that he plans to explore the possibility of going to Japan after the election. The Dong-A Ilbo, a major South Korean daily, reported Wednesday that Lee is considering visiting Japan in late July.
At the press conference, Lee also said that there are many issues on which South Korea and Japan can work together, such as security, responses to North Korea's nuclear and missile development, and the economy.
As for the abductions of Japanese citizens by North Korea decades ago, Lee said the South Korean government will offer cooperation to Japan if there is anything it can do, because the anguish of the abductees and their families must be assuaged.
On U.S. President Donald Trump's high tariff policy, Lee said that his administration will do its best in its negotiations with the U.S. side to draw mutually beneficial results although the talks are not easy.
South Korea is preparing for North Korea's provocations by leveraging the South Korea-U.S. alliance and the collaboration among the two countries plus Japan and by taking advantage of his country's strong defense capabilities, Lee said.
At the same time, Lee showed his expectation to ease tensions between North and South Korea, stating that he plans to resume the severed inter-Korean communication.
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