[Anchor]
President Lee Jae-myung is scheduled to hold a summit meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Busan today.
Following President Lee’s visit to Japan last month, Prime Minister Ishiba is returning the visit, which holds significant meaning in the restoration and establishment of Korea-Japan shuttle diplomacy.
We connect now with our reporter at the scene.
Reporter Bang Jun-won, the summit meeting starts in the afternoon, right?
[Reporter]
Yes, President Lee Jae-myung will host a summit and dinner with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in Busan this afternoon.
Prime Minister Ishiba’s visit is in response to President Lee’s visit to Japan last month.
The fact that the two leaders are meeting again within just over a month is explained by the presidential office as having significance in the restoration and establishment of Korea-Japan shuttle diplomacy.
There is meaning in holding this summit in Busan as well.
Previously, President Lee suggested to Prime Minister Ishiba the idea of having a summit in a region outside the capital during his next visit to Korea.
It’s been 21 years since a Japanese Prime Minister visited a city in Korea other than Seoul for a summit, with the last being Prime Minister Koizumi in 2004.
[Anchor]
What topics are expected to be discussed at the summit table today?
[Reporter]
Yes, during last month’s Korea-Japan summit in Tokyo, both countries agreed to address common issues like demographic challenges and regional revitalization together.
There are likely to be practical discussions such as establishing a joint consultative body.
Conversations are also expected on expanding future collaborations in fields like artificial intelligence and hydrogen energy.
Prime Minister Ishiba is set to retire next month after a new president of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party is elected, but he has expressed a strong desire to visit Korea for the summit.
President Lee is expected to ask Prime Minister Ishiba to continue playing an active role as a senior member of the Japanese political community for the advancement of Korea-Japan relations even after his retirement.
Meanwhile, First Lady Kim Hye-kyung has been diagnosed with vertigo and will not attend today’s Korea-Japan summit due to health reasons.
This has been Bang Jun-won reporting from Busan for KBS News.
Filmed by: Kim Han-bin / Edited by: Kim Hyung-ki
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