TOKYO, March 16 (KUNA) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and visiting South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol agreed on Thursday to resume the so-called “shuttle diplomacy” of reciprocal visits by the two countries’ leaders.

“From now on, I would like to open a new era in Japan-South Korea relations through frequent visits by both sides, regardless of the format,” Kishida told a joint press conference in Tokyo after the meeting with Yoon. Mutual visits by Japanese and South Korean leaders have been suspended for 12 years, as the relations between two East Asian neighbors had been strained over wartime labor dispute during Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula and other historical issues.

During the meeting, the first such summit between leaders of Japan and South Korea since 2011, Kishida and Yoon also agreed to further develop our bilateral ties based on the foundation set by the 1965 treaty normalizing diplomatic relations, according to the premier.

They also agreed to resume bilateral security talks involving foreign and defense ministry officials from the two countries at an early date amid rising North Korean nuclear and missile threats. Bilateral security talks were last held in 2018. In addition, the two sides decided to set up a new framework to discuss economic security, Kishida said.

For his part, Yoon announced that the two countries agreed to completely normalize their mutual military intelligence-sharing pact which South Korea scrapped in 2019 in protest of Japan’s export restrictions against the country. “Japan, which shares the universal values of freedom, human rights, and the rule of law with South Korea, is a partner in cooperation on security and global economic agendas. “As such, the two sides agreed to put back on track their General Security of Military Information Agreement,” the president said. “I believe the two countries should be able to share information on North Korea’s nuclear missile launches and trajectories, and respond to them,” he stressed.

Yoon’s two-day visit to Japan marked the first trip by a South Korean president to the country since 2011, excluding trips for multilateral meetings. Yoon, who took office in May 2022, has been trying to improve ties with Japan. (end) mk.gb

Source: Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)