Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and his wife Yoshiko wave their hands before departing for Busan from Tokyo Haneda Airport on the 30th. Photo by Yonhap News
President Lee Jaemyung began a summit meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Busan at around 4:49 p.m. on September 30.
During the talks, President Lee and Prime Minister Ishiba are discussing ways to cooperate on advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), as well as issues like population decline and regional revitalization.
Although not an official agenda item, there is a possibility that the two leaders will exchange views on U.S. tariffs, a challenge faced by both countries.
President Lee and Prime Minister Ishiba first met at the Group of Seven (G7) summit held in Canada on June 17, and met for a second time in Tokyo on August 23 during President Lee's visit to Japan.
This summit marks the third time in history that a Japanese prime minister has sat down with a South Korean president in a city other than Seoul, and it is the first such meeting in 21 years since President Roh Moo-hyun and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi met in 2004.
Meanwhile, as Prime Minister Ishiba has announced his intention to step down after the Liberal Democratic Party elects a new leader on October 4, this summit is expected to be the last meeting between the two leaders.
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