Japanese Prime Minister Kishida to pay two-day visit to Korea for summit talks this week

Outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is scheduled to visit Korea on Friday and Saturday for a summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol meant to set the direction of bilateral ties going forward, Seoul's presidential office announced Tuesday.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shake hands during their bilateral talks in Washington on July 10, on the margins of the NATO summit. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is scheduled to visit Korea on Friday and Saturday for a summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol meant to set the direction of bilateral ties going forward, Seoul's presidential office announced Tuesday.

The upcoming summit is expected to be an opportunity for the two leaders to reflect on their past year of diplomacy, which has led to increased exchanges between the two countries, and discuss ways to promote cooperation between the two countries on bilateral regional and global issues.

Kishida's visit to Seoul will follow a similar schedule to previous visits, including summit talks, according to a presidential official on Tuesday.

However, further details of their agenda are "currently being arranged through diplomatic channels," the official added.

This will mark the 12th summit between Yoon and Kishida since the Korean leader took office in 2022.

"The two sides will look back on the achievements in bilateral cooperation made through 11 Korea-Japan summits," the presidential office said in a statement. The two leaders will also discuss "the future direction for developing cooperation on bilateral, regional, global matters," the office said.

The two leaders developed a close rapport after Yoon visited Tokyo in March 2023 for a summit with Kishida, paving the way to normalizing bilateral relations previously mired by historical disputes and a trade spat.

The summit took place after the Yoon administration earlier that month announced a plan to compensate victims of forced labor during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule with a Korea-backed public foundation, without requiring the participation of the Japanese companies ordered to pay compensation by Korea's Supreme Court in 2018.

This led to a series of steps to thaw bilateral relations, including the lifting of export restrictions first introduced by Tokyo in the summer of 2019 and the normalization of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (Gsomia), a bilateral military intelligence-sharing pact nearly suspended by Seoul the same year.

Through their Tokyo summit, Yoon and Kishida agreed to resume "shuttle diplomacy," as the two countries' leaders hadn't visited each other's countries for bilateral talks in about 12 years.

This eventually led to the historic standalone trilateral summit at Camp David in Maryland on Aug. 18 last year between Yoon, Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden. Through this summit, the three countries agreed to immediately consult each other in the event of threats to their collective interests and security, especially in light of North Korea's rising assertiveness.

The latest summit in Seoul will take place just two months after Yoon and Kishida's last bilateral talks, which were held on the margins of the NATO summit in Washington in July.

Kishida last visited Korea one year and four months ago, in May 2023, reciprocating Yoon's visit to Tokyo in March.

In mid-August, Kishida announced he would not run for a second term as leader of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), signaling he would not seek reelection as prime minister amid political scandals and low approval ratings.

The LDP's leadership election is set for Sept. 27.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a press conference at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Aug. 14, announcing he will not seek reelection as head of his ruling party. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

Likewise, the U.S. presidential election is set for November, meaning Yoon will have to face the challenge of forging new relations with the next leaders of Japan and the United States to build on the trilateral cooperation pledged at the Camp David summit meant to strengthen cooperation on security and economic matters.

In a nod to the changing leadership, the leaders of South Korea, the United States and Japan released a joint statement on Aug. 18 stressing their "unshakable belief" in their trilateral security cooperation and progress on the anniversary of their historic Camp David summit.

Kishida's visit to Seoul before leaving office is expected to reflect his wish for the future Japanese cabinet to work toward improving bilateral relations with Korea.

Kishida, a former foreign minister, expressed his hope to visit Korea to discuss the direction of development of bilateral relations "in the context of Korea-Japan shuttle summit diplomacy" ahead of the end of his term, the presidential office said in a statement.

He is "expected to continue to provide constructive advice on foreign policy" for his successor as prime minister and contribute to the future development of Korea-Japan relations based on his own experience, a presidential official added.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]