By UN Journal Lee Jon-young

President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is in Washington, D.C., to attend the NATO Summit, held a bilateral summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on July 10 (local time).

The two leaders welcomed the opportunity to meet again in about a month and a half since they held a bilateral summit on the sidelines of the South Korea-Japan-China Summit in May, and appreciated the continuation of their meetings on the sidelines of the NATO Summit for the third consecutive year as part of the IP4.

The two leaders noted that cooperation in various areas, including the economy, energy, and future generation exchange, agreed upon on the occasion of the last summit, is yielding tangible results, and called for continued strengthening of security cooperation among South Korea, Japan, and the United States amidst the tense security situation.

The two leaders shared their concern over Russia's decision to strengthen mutual military and economic cooperation with North Korea through the signing of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty, and agreed that South Korea and Japan will work closely together and in solidarity with the international community to address Russia's military cooperation in violation of Security Council resolutions. 

They also exchanged views on various regional and global issues and agreed to continue to strengthen cooperation in the international arena.

The two leaders agreed to continue to communicate on issues of mutual interest between the two countries, and to draw attention to the need for the diplomatic authorities to gather wisdom and begin preparations for the meaningful celebration of the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations next year.

The two leaders agreed to continue to communicate closely in any format.