In the first meeting between the leaders of Korea and Japan, 'no difference'... 'North Korean threat' rather than 'past history'

[Anchor]
President Yoon Suk Yeol held his first summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba during the ASEAN Summit.

We agreed to strengthen cooperation in response to North Korea's threats by continuing shuttle diplomacy, but we expect that there will be no significant change in the new Korea-Japan relationship.

Reporter Hong Sun-ki reports.

[Reporter]
President Yoon Suk Yeol held his first meeting with the new Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Laos, where he visited to attend the ASEAN Summit on the 10th.

The summit, which took place less than 10 days after Ishiba's inauguration, included an intention to emphasize that the two countries are close.

At the meeting, the two leaders also voiced the need for close cooperation through shuttle diplomacy.

[Yoon Suk Yeol / President: Following former Prime Minister Kishida, I hope that the Prime Minister and I will continue to promote the development of Korea-Japan relations through active and close communication, including shuttle diplomacy]

[Shigeru Ishiba / Japanese Prime Minister: I hope we can work closely with the President while also utilizing the shuttle diplomacy you mentioned]

Above all, he emphasized the importance of cooperation between the two countries to respond to the North Korean threat.

Furthermore, he emphasized the illegality of military cooperation between North Korea and Russia and the need for a joint response.

There was no disagreement throughout the talks, but the issue of past history, a key issue in Korea-Japan relations, was not discussed.

Experts say that the new Korea-Japan relationship will lead to a similar atmosphere to that of Prime Minister Kishida.

[Lee Won-deok/Professor of Japanese Studies at Kookmin University: I think there will still be criticism. Nevertheless, it seems to me that the Yoon administration has little intention of regressing or controlling the relationship with Japan just because of such domestic criticism or other opinions.]

The need for cooperation and cooperation against North Korea's threats was emphasized at this meeting to highlight the fact that it is more important than the past.

This is YTN Hong Seon-gi.