Japan’s Kishida, South Korea’s Yoon Meet for 3rd Time

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:04 JST, May 21, 2023

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is in Hiroshima to attend the Group of Seven summit, discussed their bilateral relations during a meeting on Sunday morning.

“This is the third time that President Yoon and I are meeting in two months, and I feel it clearly demonstrates how the relationship between our two countries has progressed under our leadership,” Kishida said at the start of the talks.

In reference to Kishida’s remarks of being “deeply heartbroken” over the issues related to former requisitioned workers from the Korean Peninsula during his May visit to South Korea, Yoon said: “It resonated greatly with the citizens of our country. It showed sincerity.”

Ahead of the meeting, both Kishida and Yoon laid flowers at a monument for the Korean victims of the atomic bombing at the Peace Memorial Park. Many people from the Korean Peninsula were also victims of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima. It marked the first time a South Korean president has visited the memorial.