S.Korean President Lee, Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba seek closer ties

South Korea’s newly elected President Lee Jae-myung on Monday had his first official telephone conversation with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, with the two leaders pledging to reinforce bilateral ties and deepen trilateral cooperation with the US amid a shifting geopolitical landscape.

The phone talk, which lasted about 25 minutes around midday, marked the two leaders’ first direct engagement since Lee assumed office on June 4.

Ishiba extended his congratulations on Lee’s inauguration, to which the Korean president expressed his gratitude, according to Kang Yu-jung, Seoul’s presidential spokeswoman.

President Lee stressed the importance of closer Seoul-Tokyo relations in the current strategic environment.

"I hope our two nations can jointly respond to future challenges and pursue a mutually beneficial path, from the perspective of our national interests," Kang quoted Lee as saying during the phone call.

PRAGMATIC DIPLOMACY

A left-leaning leader who was elected as president last week, Lee has vowed to pursue a pragmatic diplomacy.

The call comes after the two leaders said that they aimed for their countries to continue coordinating on North Korean issues.

Lee told Ishiba that he wanted to deal with geopolitical crises within the framework of three-way cooperation involving Soeul, Tokyo and Washington, according to Kang.

Ishiba told Lee that he wished to further advance bilateral relations "through mutual efforts based on the foundation built by both governments so far", according to Japan's foreign ministry.

As both countries navigate increasingly complex regional dynamics – from North Korea’s evolving threat to intensifying US–China rivalry – the early signals from Seoul and Tokyo suggest a renewed willingness to strengthen cooperation over shared strategic interests, analysts said.

Recognizing the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Japan later this month, the two leaders also agreed to promote people-to-people exchanges and enhance communication between their governments.

Reaffirming the significance of bilateral ties, Lee and Ishiba agreed to meet in person soon to further develop relations, she said.

MEETING AT G7 SUMMIT

A potential venue for their first in-person meeting could be the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Canada, scheduled for June 15-17.

Although South Korea is not a member of the G7, Lee was invited by the host nation, Canada, to participate in the summit’s expanded sessions.

Last Friday, Lee had an inaugural phone call with US President Donald Trump for about 20 minutes.

During his phone conversation with Trump, Seoul officials said the two leaders agreed to work toward a swift tariff deal.

Trump has imposed tariffs on Seoul, a longtime ally with which it has a bilateral free trade deal, and pressed it to pay more for the 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea.

Seoul officials said the Korean government is also in consultations with China to arrange phone talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Write to Jae-young Han at jyhan@hankyung.com
In-Soo Nam edited this article.