South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru had a phone call on Monday, June 9th. This was the first conversation between President Lee Jae-myung and a Japanese leader since taking office. They agreed to strengthen bilateral relations between Japan and South Korea.
According to reports from Reuters, the news was confirmed by a spokesperson from the South Korean President’s office and the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Prior to this call, both leaders had expressed their commitment to continue coordinating efforts on the issue of North Korea.
President-elect Lee Jae-myung, from the Democratic Party, was elected as the President of South Korea last week. He emphasized pragmatism as a key aspect of the new government’s foreign policy and pledged to advance security cooperation between South Korea, Japan, and the United States.
The spokesperson for the South Korean President’s office, Kang Yu-jeong, told reporters that the leaders of South Korea and Japan had a phone call at noon on that day. During the call, Lee Jae-myung informed Ishiba Shigeru that he hoped to address geopolitical crises within the framework of trilateral cooperation with Tokyo and Washington.
Kang Yu-jeong added that the two leaders reiterated the importance of bilateral relations and agreed to hold a face-to-face meeting to enhance ties between the two countries.
In a statement, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentioned that Ishiba Shigeru expressed his hope to further advance bilateral relations through joint efforts, building on the foundation laid by both governments to date.
The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the phone call lasted approximately 25 minutes.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea.