South Korea, Japan coordinating Lee-Ishiba summit late August

Seoul, Aug 9 The offices of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba have been coordinating to hold a summit in Tokyo later this month, a Japanese report said Saturday.

The meeting is most likely to take place around August 23, Japan's Asahi Shimbun reported, citing multiple government sources.

When asked about the report, the South Korean presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said the two sides have been coordinating the summit, but the schedule has not yet been confirmed.

If realised, it would be Lee's first visit to Japan since taking office in early June and would signal the resumption of "shuttle diplomacy" between the two nations' leaders, Yonhap news agency reported.

Lee and Ishiba last met in person on June 17 on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Canada, during which they discussed ways to advance bilateral ties and bolster trilateral cooperation with the United States.

Lee is also widely expected to visit Washington for his first summit with US President Donald Trump later this month, though the presidential office has yet to announce the schedule.

"The schedules for a South Korea-Japan summit and South Korea-US summit are still being arranged, and have not been confirmed. We will announce them once they are confirmed," Kang told reporters.

Last month, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met with Ishiba, during which the Japanese leader reaffirmed his intent to maintain and further develop good relations with Seoul.

Ishiba made the remarks during his 15-minute meeting with Cho at the prime minister's residence, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said during a press briefing.

"While maintaining and building on the favorable momentum in South Korea-Japan relations, I also intend to advance cooperation among South Korea, the US and Japan," Ishiba was quoted as saying.

Hayashi said he believes the two countries have been communicating closely since the Lee Jae Myung administration took office, describing South Korea and Japan as "important neighbors and partners" on many international issues.

Cho held talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya, during which he highlighted South Korea's efforts to bolster ties with "friendly nations" under the Lee government, signaling an intent to maintain the thaw in bilateral relations with Japan.

In a subsequent meeting with South Korean correspondents in Tokyo, the South Korean foreign minister said he has emphasised to Japanese officials the need to develop bilateral ties in a future-oriented manner.

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