President Lee Jae Myung (left) and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Aug. 23 announce their joint declaration at a bilateral news conference following their summit at the latter's residence in Tokyo.

By Park Hye Ri
Photos = Office of the President

President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba have agreed to develop bilateral ties in a future-oriented and stable manner to mark the 60th anniversary of normalizing diplomatic relations this year.

The two leaders on Aug. 23 announced this at a joint news conference after their summit at the Japanese leader's official residence in Tokyo. They also released the meeting's outcome in an official statement for the first time in 17 years.

In the statement, both countries said they should work together as partners for future-oriented, mutually beneficial common interests to respond to global issues.

Prime Minister Ishiba also pledged to fully recognize the positions of previous Japanese cabinets on historical awareness such as the joint Kim Dae-jung–Obuchi Declaration on a New Japan-Republic of Korea Partnership towards the Twenty-first Century in 1998.

The two sides hailed the quick resumption of their shuttle diplomacy, with the first bilateral summit held in Canada two weeks after President Lee took office and the second in Japan two months later.

The statement also covered expanding cooperation in future industries including hydrogen and artificial intelligence, launching a joint committee to respond to common social issues such as low birth rates and revival of regions, and measures to boost people-to-people exchange such as raising the quota for working holiday visas.

They also agreed on the need to strengthen bilateral strategic communication amid changes in the regional strategic environment including the Indo-Pacific area, as well as the new economic and trade order. They also pledged to bolster communication at all government ranks including the head of state in many sectors including national and economic security.

On North Korea, both leaders reaffirmed their firm commitment to the North's complete denuclearization and a permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula, agreeing to continue cooperation in related policy.

Turning to the North's nuclear and missile threats, Seoul and Tokyo highlighted continued cooperation with the international community so that the sanctions imposed on Pyeongyang by the United Nations Security Council can be fully implemented based on trilateral cooperation with the U.S.

They decided to work together for a successful hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation starting in late October in Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, and a trilateral summit with China in Japan.

Wrapping up his two-day visit to Tokyo, President Lee on Aug. 24 flew to Washington to attend a bilateral summit with U.S. President Donald Trump on Aug. 25.

President Lee Jae Myung (left) and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Aug. 23 pose for photos at the summit venue of the latter's official residence in Tokyo.