Newsnomics AJAY ANGELINA reporter | South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is going to have first presiden-tial visit to Japan from March 16 to 17 for a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, announced by the presidential office on Thursday.
President Yoon is heading to Japan with his wife at the invitation of the Japanese government, that marks the first visit by a South Korean president to Japan in 12 years since 2019.
The Presidential Office announced, “Seoul hopes the visit can pave the way for the two countries to move on
from the unfortunate history and hopes that it fosters better cooperation in security, trade, and culture.”
On Monday, President Yoon said he hoped to “enter a new phase” with Japan by proposing a plan to resolve a dispute over Koreans conscripted to work at Japanese mines and factories during the country’s 1910-1945
rule over the Korean Peninsula.”
Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi welcomed the effort to “return ties to a healthy state” and both sides announced talks on rolling back trade curbs imposed almost four years ago.
The Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said, “with President Yoon’s visit to Japan, we hope that Japan-South Korea relations will advance further, on the basis of the friendly and cooperative relationship that has
existed since the normalization of diplomatic relations.”
Kishida and Yoon, who have been eager to improve ties since their last meeting at ASEAN leaders’ summit in Cambodia on November 2022, but it will be Yoon’s first visit to Japan since he took office last year.
