The weekend visit to Tokyo by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung for talks with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has highlighted the neighbors¡¯ desire to put their historical baggage behind them and focus on economic and security cooperation ¡ª especially as both look to manage relations with U.S. President Donald Trump¡¯s administration.
In a symbol of this, Lee on Saturday made Japan his first destination abroad as leader ¡ª the first time a South Korean president has visited Japan before the United States, the two Asian nations¡¯ mutual ally, since Tokyo and Seoul normalized diplomatic ties in 1965.
Following wide-ranging talks later in the day, the two leaders agreed that Japan and South Korea must work ¡°as partners¡± to address ¡°various challenges facing the international community¡± in order to advance ¡°future-oriented and mutually beneficial common interests,¡± according to a joint statement ¡ª the countries¡¯ first in 17 years.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.