Tokyo: President Lee Jae Myung on Saturday called for closer cooperation with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to navigate the rapidly changing global trade and security landscape. This marks their first comprehensive summit ahead of Lee's upcoming high-stakes meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Lee emphasized the importance of collaboration between South Korea and Japan, referring to Japan as a "neighbor that shares a front yard." He expressed a desire to expand cooperation across various domains while minimizing unnecessary conflicts. "As the international order in trade and security is fluctuating, I believe the Republic of Korea and Japan, which share similar positions in terms of values, order and ideology, must strengthen their cooperation more than ever," Lee stated.
Echoing Lee's sentiments, Ishiba highlighted the significance of strong bilateral and trilateral cooperation with the U.S. "Strengthening cooperation among Japan, South Korea and the United States is very important," Ishiba remarked. He further expressed gratitude to Lee for choosing Japan as his initial bilateral destination before the U.S.
The summit with Ishiba precedes Lee's visit to Washington for talks with Trump, a rare diplomatic choice for South Korean presidents who typically prioritize Washington as their first official destination post-election. This meeting marks Lee and Ishiba's second in-person interaction following their encounter at the Group of Seven summit in Canada.
On security matters, Lee and Ishiba reiterated their commitment to the complete denuclearization of North Korea and emphasized the importance of trilateral cooperation with the U.S. "We reaffirmed our commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of permanent peace and agreed to close coordination on North Korea policy," Lee announced at a joint press conference.
The leaders plan to issue a joint statement, the first from a bilateral summit in 17 years, and establish a joint consultative body to address shared challenges. Lee described his visit to Tokyo as an opportunity to strengthen "future-oriented" ties, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between the two nations.
Lee is scheduled to meet with Japanese lawmakers on Sunday before departing for Washington for his summit with Trump. While the focus remains on expanding cooperation, sensitive issues persist, including South Korea's seafood import ban from eight Japanese prefectures near Fukushima, imposed after the 2011 nuclear disaster. Tokyo has repeatedly urged Seoul to lift these restrictions.
Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung addressed these concerns, stating, "On issues that cause public concern or could undermine the national interest, we will do our utmost to ensure our response is in line with the national interest and does not run counter to the people's concerns," during a briefing in Tokyo.