South Korean President meets ex-Japanese PM Suga to discuss bilateral ties

Seoul, July 30 South Korean President Lee Jae Myung met Wednesday with former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga to discuss ways to further develop bilateral relations between the two nations, the presidential office said.

Suga headed a delegation from the Japan-South Korea Parliamentarians' Association, marking the highest-level Japanese political figure's first visit to Seoul since Lee took office in early June.

"It is very encouraging that exchanges between the peoples of Korea and Japan have increased significantly and that mutual respect and favorability toward each other have greatly improved," Lee said during the meeting at the presidential office.

He added that closer people-to-people exchanges could help improve relations between the two governments and their lawmakers, ultimately benefiting bilateral ties.

"As neighbors sharing the same backyard, I sincerely hope our two countries will continue to strengthen relations," Lee said.

Suga echoed the view, pledging to work together to deepen ties between Seoul and Tokyo in a broad range of areas, Yonhap news agency reported.

During the meeting, Lee and Suga discussed ways to resume "shuttle diplomacy," or regular exchanges between leaders, as part of efforts to further advance the bilateral relations, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung told reporters.

The meeting came as South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun was visiting Tokyo for talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya on his first overseas trip since taking office last week.

Earlier in the day, Cho also met with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who reaffirmed his intent to maintain and further develop good relations with Seoul.

Ishiba made remarks during his 15-minute meeting with Cho at the prime minister's residence earlier in the day, 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.

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