Presidential Office: "Yoon-Kishida Japan PM to Hold Phone Talk Tonight" (Comprehensive)

Confirmation of Strengthened Korea-Japan and Korea-US-Japan Cooperation

President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will hold a phone summit on the night of the 17th. They are expected to reaffirm Korea-Japan cooperation and express their commitment to strengthening close trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the United States, and Japan.

A senior official from the presidential office stated on the day, "President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida plan to have a phone consultation this evening regarding Korea-Japan bilateral relations and trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the United States, and Japan."

On the same day, Japan's Mainichi Shimbun reported, citing multiple sources, that President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida will hold a phone summit tonight.

President Yoon Suk-yeol, who visited the United States to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, is seen embracing Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a hotel in San Francisco on November 16 last year (local time) during the Korea-Japan summit.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to the report, the phone summit tonight was initiated at Japan's proposal. Prime Minister Kishida is expected to explain the recent results of his visit to the United States and reaffirm his commitment to strengthening Korea-Japan and trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the United States, and Japan. Earlier, on the 10th (local time), Kishida held a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington, D.C., where they agreed to deepen trilateral cooperation among the three countries.

Additionally, the summit is also analyzed to have the purpose of strengthening the friendly relationship between the two heads of state of Korea and Japan. Mainichi mentioned the ruling party's heavy defeat in South Korea's general election on the 10th and reported that Prime Minister Kishida has the intention to continuously improve Korea-Japan relations based on a personal trust relationship with President Yoon.