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Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters that he and South Korean president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol had agreed to stay in contact over North Korea and that they planned to convene as soon as possible.
North Korea allegedly used a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system in two secretive launches, a move believed by US and South Korean officials to prepare for long-range tests.
All diplomatic options, including sanctions, are options in dealing with North Korea, Kishida says, and Japan will remain in contact with the US and South Korea for any response.
Yoon, through his spokeswoman, said he hopes for greater trilateral cooperation between the three countries. Yoon recently won the South Korean presidential elections on Wednesday.
Tensions have remained between Japan and Korea after Japan colonized the peninsula from 1910 to 1945, including the establishment of forced labor and wartime brothels.
In a bid to establish and advance good bilateral ties given the state of world affairs, Kishida said the two have agreed to deal with the tensions another time.
With regional security and the economy among the two countries’ areas of cooperation, Yoon told Kishida that resolving pending bilateral issues is important in a “reasonable, mutually beneficial manner.”
Yoon’s spokeswoman also said that the president-elect shared his condolences to the victims of the 2011 earthquake in northeastern Japan as it marked its 11th anniversary.
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