Kishida "I want to communicate closely with South Korea in the field of security"

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida expressed his desire to closely communicate with South Korea in the field of security.

According to the Japanese prime minister's residence on the 5th, Prime Minister Kishida answered the question as follows after a telephone conversation with US President Joe Biden the night before about the North Korean ballistic missile launch.

He said, "On the issue of Korea and Japan, I communicated with President Yoon Seok-yeol at the UN General Assembly not long ago, and I would like to seek future-oriented development based on the friendship that has been built up since the 1965 Korea-Japan Claims Agreement." There was a consensus between the (Korea and Japan) leaders on the point,” he said.

He added, "I would like to promote close communication, since the security field is particularly relevant to people's lives and daily lives," he said.

It is interpreted that the previous day, North Korea's ballistic missile passed through the Japanese archipelago for the first time in five years as an opportunity to express its intention to further strengthen security cooperation with South Korea.

Prior to that, Prime Minister Kishida reaffirmed and strengthened cooperation between the United States and Japan, and South Korea, Japan, and furthermore, for the complete denuclearization of North Korea in accordance with the UN Security Council resolution at a press conference on the occasion of the first anniversary of the North Korean ballistic missile launch and inauguration in the afternoon of the previous day. “I feel I have to,” he said.

Prime Minister Kishida has usually mentioned 'US-Japan, Korea-US-Japan cooperation' in relation to the North Korean issue, but in addition, he emphasized 'Korea-Japan cooperation'.

At a regular press conference this morning, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno answered a question about whether the Korea-Japan summit would be considered as an opportunity for a North Korean ballistic missile to pass over Japan. We plan to communicate closely.”

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Kishida told reporters after the US-Japan summit call that he had reiterated his resolve to fundamentally strengthen Japan's defense capabilities to President Biden.