Roundup: Japan's PM expects meeting with S. Korean president to improve bilateral ties

In a meeting Monday with visiting South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he wished to meet South Korean President Park Geun-hye at an early date to improve bilateral relations.

Japanese prime minister told Yun that he was willing to hold summit meetings with Park, which would be the first time the two leaders hold formal talks since they both came into office, Abe in 2012 and Park in 2013, owing to the two countries' ongoing diplomatic spats.

Monday marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between Japan and South Korea.

"Together with President Park, I would like to further improve relations toward the next half a century," Abe was quoted as telling Yun in a meeting at his office earlier Monday.

Abe stated that South Korea is one of Japan's most important neighbors and that both countries should aim to develop future relations with mutual trust.

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida also held talks with Yun on the South Korean envoy's first day here on Sunday, where sources close to the matter believe the pair discussed the groundwork necessary for Abe and Park to hold their first official summit later this year.

The two foreign ministers agreed that the summit would happen at an "appropriate time" for both leaders, with the South Korean side likely insisting that Japan make more progress with the stalled "comfort women" issue.

Kishida, for his part, said he would make a reciprocal visit to South Korea later this year and said he agreed with his counterpart that meeting on a regular basis was imperative to the improvement of bilateral ties between the two countries.

Regarding Japan's plans to have some controversial war-linked sites known as the "Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution" listed by UNESCO, Kishida said progress had been made on the issue, although no particular resolution had been agreed upon.

The 23 sites, to the ire of the South Koreans, saw approximately 60,000 Koreans conscripted to work there during World War II and Japan's occupation of the Korean Peninsular, and, due to the severity of the labor around 90 Koreans lost their lives. Endi