Kishida Japanese Prime Minister to Visit Korea on 6-7th... Farewell Meeting with President Yoon

Presidential Office "Discussing Korea-Japan Cooperation Plans"
12th Meeting Between Leaders Since Resumption of Shuttle Diplomacy

President Yoon Suk-yeol, attending the 75th anniversary summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), is taking a commemorative photo with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Japan-Korea summit held on the 10th (local time) at the Willard InterContinental Hotel in Washington DC, USA. [Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will meet on the 6th. This will be the 12th meeting between President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida, who is set to step down at the end of this month. It is expected that Prime Minister Kishida will emphasize the improvement of Korea-Japan relations and express his intention to continue cooperation.

The Blue House announced that Prime Minister Kishida is scheduled to visit Korea from the 6th to the 7th, and the two leaders plan to discuss ways to enhance bilateral cooperation through a summit meeting.

A Blue House official stated, "During Prime Minister Kishida's visit, there will be a schedule similar to past occasions, including a summit meeting," adding, "The talks will focus on bilateral relations and ways to strengthen cooperation between the two countries on regional and international stages." The detailed agenda is currently being coordinated through diplomatic channels.

The two leaders resumed Korea-Japan shuttle diplomacy in March last year after 12 years. In August last year, President Yoon, U.S. President Joe Biden, and Prime Minister Kishida held a summit at Camp David in the United States, agreeing to strengthen trilateral security and economic cooperation among Korea, the U.S., and Japan.

Prime Minister Kishida, who was elected as the new leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on September 29, 2021, announced that he will not run in the party leadership election scheduled for the 27th. Japan, which adopts a parliamentary cabinet system, has a structure where the leader of the majority party becomes the prime minister. In this context, with Prime Minister Kishida giving up the next prime ministership, this visit to Korea will effectively be his final farewell meeting with President Yoon.

Prime Minister Kishida has expressed his desire to visit Korea before his retirement. It is known that he hopes to meet President Yoon before stepping down to review the progress he has made in improving Korea-Japan relations.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul appeared on KBS Sunday Diagnosis Live and said, "(Prime Minister Kishida) expressed his willingness to come, and President (Yoon) said he would welcome him anytime he comes."

According to Kyodo News, on the 30th of last month, during a meeting with Korea-Japan Forum officials at his official residence, Prime Minister Kishida stated, "I hope that Korea-Japan cooperation will remain strong and that the people of both countries will continuously feel the improvement in relations."