A
Japanese government official and another official from a Group
of Seven government said the meeting was expected before Kishida
hosts a G7 summit from May 19.
Japan's Kyodo news agency said on Saturday the two will meet
around May 7 or 8, citing multiple unnamed Japanese and South
Korean diplomatic sources.
Their aim will be to confirm the two neighbours' strengthening
of cooperation over North Korea ahead of the Hiroshima G7
summit, Kyodo said.
Asked about reports of the bilateral summit, Kishida said in
remarks broadcast by public network NHK that nothing concrete
had been decided.
An answering machine at Japan's foreign ministry on Saturday
said no one was available over the weekend.
Ties between Japan and South Korea, long strained by issues
including war time compensation and trade, have been improving
in recent months in the face of North Korea's frequent missile
launches and China's more muscular role on the global stage.
The two sides agreed to revive shuttle diplomacy when Yoon met
with Kishida in Tokyo in March, the first Japan visit by a South
Korean president in 12 years.
The last visit by a Japanese prime minister to South Korea was
made by Shinzo Abe in 2018, according to NHK.
U.S. President Joe Biden this week praised Yoon's efforts toward
improving relations with Japan during a visit by Yoon to
Washington. Biden, Yoon and Kishida are to meet on the sidelines
of the Hiroshima summit, according to Japanese media reports.
North Korea's Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim
Jong Un, said a U.S.-South Korea agreement this week about the
need to shore up South Korean security will worsen the
situation, according to state media KCNA.
North Korea is convinced it must further perfect a "nuclear war
deterrent" as a result, Kim was quoted as saying.
(Reporting by Kevin Buckland and Kentaro Sugiyama in Tokyo and
Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington; Editing by Lincoln Feast and
William Mallard)
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