Japan’s Abe, S. Korea’s Lee Reaffirm Cooperation on N. Korea

September 11, 2018

Vladivostok, Russia- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his South Korean counterpart, Lee Nak-yeon, on Tuesday reaffirmed close cooperation between Tokyo and Seoul, as well as among them and Washington, toward the denuclearization of North Korea.

The two met in the Russian Far East city of Vladivostok, on the sidelines of the annual Eastern Economic Forum conference hosted by Russia.

Abe said he wants to express his respect to Seoul's efforts to improve inter-Korean relations and serve as a bridge between the United States and North Korea.

Lee said the upcoming inter-Korean summit is expected to contribute to the resumption of dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are scheduled to hold talks in Pyongyang for three days from Sept. 18, meeting for the third time this year.

As Japan and South Korea will mark in October 20 years since they issued a joint declaration on a new bilateral partnership in 1998, Abe and Lee agreed to work on building a future-oriented relationship between their countries. Jiji Press