NIPPON



 

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.