Kishida Mulls S. Korea Visit This Summer in "Shuttle Diplomacy"

   Tokyo, March 15 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is considering visiting South Korea as early as this summer, following a visit to Japan by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol this week, it was learned Wednesday.
   Kishida's possible visit would come under a "shuttle diplomacy" scheme between the two countries, which Kishida and Yoon are expected to agree to resume at their summit in Tokyo on Thursday.
   The two leaders are believed to find it necessary to strengthen Japan-South Korea cooperation in the face of China's military intimidation and North Korea's repeated ballistic missile launches.
   According to a senior Foreign Ministry official, Kishida is likely to visit South Korea after the ongoing ordinary session of the Diet, Japan's parliament ends on June 21 unless the session is extended, and by August.
   The shuttle diplomacy scheme has been suspended since then Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and then South Korean President Lee Myung-bak met in the western Japan city of Kyoto in December 2011.

(2023/03/15-12:44)

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