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| ▲ President Yoon Suk Yeol talks over the phone with Japan's new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at his office in Seoul on Oct. 2, 2024, in this photo provided by the presidential office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) S Korea-Japan-summit
(LEAD) Consultations under way for summit between Yoon, Japan's Ishiba in Laos: presidential office
(ATTN: CHANGES headline, dateline, lead; UPDATES with more details in paras 2-3, 5-7)
SEOUL, Oct. 3 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol and new Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba have been arranging to have their first in-person meeting on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Laos, Yoon's office said Thursday.
Yoon plans to visit Laos from Wednesday to Friday, as part of his three-nation Southeast Asian trip that includes stops in the Philippines and Singapore.
"South Korea and Japan have been consulting on a bilateral meeting, assuming the Japanese Prime Minister's visit to Laos," a senior presidential official told reporters.
The planned meeting comes amid expectations over how Yoon and Ishiba will work together to keep up the momentum for greater bilateral cooperation in tackling evolving North Korean threats and other shared challenges.
On Wednesday, Yoon and Ishiba held their first phone talks, where they shared the need for bilateral cooperation as well as trilateral cooperation with the United States to deal with North Korean threats.
During the call, the leaders agreed to continue their regular "shuttle diplomacy" and meet at the earliest opportunity for candid discussions on bilateral relations and other shared concerns.
Bilateral ties have significantly improved after Yoon decided last year to resolve the long-running row over Japan's wartime mobilization of Koreans for forced labor by compensating victims without asking Japanese firms for contributions.
Yoon and Ishiba's predecessor, Fumio Kishida, had since restored the long-suspended shuttle diplomacy of visiting each other whenever necessary and held 12 summits over the last two years.
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