Tokyo, May 14 (IANS) Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will undertake a two-day visit to South Korea starting May 19, Japan’s Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Masanao Ozaki said on Thursday.
Masanao Ozaki notified a board meeting of the House of Representatives’ steering committee of the trip’s itinerary, the local media media reported.
Takaichi is scheduled to hold talks with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on issues of ensuring energy security as well as beefing up supply chains for critical minerals amid disruptions in crude oil shipments following the ongoing conflict in Iran, the report mentioned.
“The two leaders are likely to meet in the southeastern city of Andong, Lee’s hometown, as part of a bilateral practice of leader-level reciprocal visits dubbed shuttle diplomacy,” the report highlighted.
In January, Lee visited Japan and held a summit in Takaichi’s hometown of Nara Prefecture.
Japan aims to make progress in future talks with South Korea for an Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA), following their two-plus-two security meeting of defence and foreign vice ministers that took place in Seoul on May 7, according to Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun.
An ACSA is a bilateral pact between the United States and its allies on facilitating the sharing of logistics, supplies and services, such as food, fuel and transportation, during contingencies.
However, on May 8, a South Korean defence ministry official said that Seoul is not considering signing a bilateral military logistics support agreement with Tokyo, following a report suggesting Japan seeks to push for such a deal.
“We are not considering the signing of an ACSA between South Korea and Japan,” a defence ministry official said, Yonhap news agency reported.
“The South Korean government continues to pursue stable and future-oriented defence exchanges and cooperation with Japan based on mutual respect and trust,” the official added.
–IANS
ksk/as
