By Kim Eun-young and Lee Jihae

President Moon Jae-in on Dec. 24 urged Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in their bilateral summit in Chengdu, China, to lift all export sanctions on Korea, saying, "Export regulations must go back to what they were before July 1."

Cheong Wa Dae Spokesperson Ko Min-jung conveyed the president's message in a media briefing.

President Moon attended a trilateral summit with China and Japan in Chengdu.

The two leaders agreed on the need to resolve issues such as Korean victims of forced labor under Japanese colonial rule and during World War II and bilateral dialogue, expressing hope that the issues can be resolved quickly and for more frequent bilateral summits. On the Korean Peninsula, they also agreed on the importance of close cooperation and communication among Korea, the U.S. and Japan and people-to-people exchanges through next year's Tokyo Summer Olympics.

Prime Minister Abe requested Korea's support for and aid in resolving North Korea's past abductions of Japanese nationals, to which President Moon said he will continue to support Japan in such efforts.

"I hope this meeting will give hope to the people of both countries that the issues can be solved through dialogue," the president said.

This was the sixth summit between President Moon and Prime Minister Abe and their first in 15 months; their last dialogue was in September last year at the U.N. General Assembly in New York.

eykim86@korea.kr