S. Korean Leader Urges Tripartite Collaboration with, China, Japan
"I emphasized the need for the three Northeast Asian countries -- (South) Korea, Japan, and China -- to identify as much common ground as possible in order to communicate and cooperate," Lee stated at a joint press briefing in Takaichi's home province of Nara, according to a Seoul-based news agency.
Lee's statement followed his recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing, occurring as Tokyo-Beijing tensions escalate over Taiwan.
Calling on Tokyo and Seoul to advance toward a "better future," Lee underscored that "cooperation" between South Korea and Japan holds unprecedented significance.
The leader is conducting a two-day official state visit to Japan.
"Amid a complex and dizzying international order, I believe that cooperation between (South) Korea and Japan is more important than ever," Lee told Takaichi.
Takaichi informed reporters the nations "agreed to advance discussions on the economy and economic security fields for strategic and mutually beneficial collaboration," media confirmed.
This marks Lee's second Japanese visit after traveling there last August for discussions with Takaichi's predecessor, Shigeru Ishiba, and represents his fifth encounter with a Japanese leader since assuming office last June.
Takaichi traveled to South Korea last October for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Gyeongju, where she met Lee and held her inaugural meeting with Chinese President Xi.
China-Japan relations have deteriorated since November, when Takaichi declared a Chinese assault on Taiwan could legally constitute a "survival-threatening situation," potentially enabling Japan to exercise collective self-defense rights.
The statement triggered severe Beijing pushback, which warned Chinese nationals against Japan travel and reimposed a Japanese seafood import prohibition, alongside additional countermeasures.
DNA Analysis of Korean Victims of 1942 Floods
Prior to his arrival, Lee indicated Seoul's relationship with Tokyo matches the importance of its Beijing connection, noting Taiwan tensions remain outside South Korea's sphere to "engage in or intervene in."
Lee reported both nations reinforced their commitment toward complete Korean Peninsula denuclearization, while also "agreed on the importance of trilateral security collaboration with their common ally, the United States."
Seoul-Tokyo relations have strengthened recently after hitting historic lows over compensation disputes for South Korean forced labor victims during Japan's colonial occupation of the Korean Peninsula (1910-1945) and additional historical and territorial conflicts.
Both governments will collaborate to recover remains and perform DNA identification analysis for 183 individuals, including 136 Korean forced laborers, from the Chosei undersea coal mine in Japan's western Yamaguchi province, who perished in a 1942 flood disaster.
The two maritime nations officially established diplomatic relations in 1965, when Seoul provided $500 million in economic assistance to South Korea to normalize ties.
Throughout recent decades, bilateral trade volume has reached approximately $75 billion.
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