Yoon and Kishida Hold 'Farewell Summit' Today... Aiming for a Successful Conclusion

12th Summit Meeting After Inaugurations of Both Leaders
Kishida Nearing End of Term Reviews Achievements
Discussing Further Development Plans for Korea-Japan Relations

President Yoon Suk-yeol, attending the 75th NATO Summit, is taking a commemorative photo with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a hotel in Washington DC, USA, on July 10 (local time) during the Korea-Japan summit.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon Suk-yeol will hold a farewell summit with Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, who is about to leave office, on the afternoon of the 6th. The two leaders are expected to review the progress made in improving Korea-Japan relations and discuss additional cooperation measures.

Prime Minister Kishida, who is visiting Korea for a one-night, two-day trip from the 6th to the 7th along with his wife, Mrs. Yuko, will visit Korea for the third and final time since taking office to strengthen friendly ties with President Yoon.

Kishida, who has announced that he will not run in the Liberal Democratic Party leadership election, will step down at the end of this month when his term ends. As he has actively worked to improve Korea-Japan relations during his tenure, it is known that he strongly wished to hold talks with President Yoon as a way to conclude his term successfully.

In fact, the two leaders have met frequently, holding talks 12 times since their inauguration. Through these meetings, they have not only improved bilateral relations but also strengthened trilateral cooperation among Korea, the U.S., and Japan.

On this day, President Yoon and Prime Minister Kishida will engage in both small-scale and expanded meetings, followed by a dinner. The talks are planned to cover bilateral cooperation, regional cooperation, and directions for advancing global cooperation. Even after Kishida steps down, he is expected to play a role as a political elder in the next cabinet, so President Yoon is likely to request continued interest in the development of Korea-Japan relations.

In particular, this summit may address the introduction of a pre-entry inspection system that allows Japanese entry screening to be conducted in domestic airports in advance, as well as mutual cooperation between the Korean and Japanese governments in evacuating their nationals from third countries in emergencies.