Former Japanese Pm Aso Meets S.korean Foreign Minister
The vice president of Japan's main ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Aso Taro, has met with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin in Seoul.
Aso and Park talked for about an hour over breakfast on Thursday. The talks follow Aso's meeting on the previous day with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol.
Aso, a former Japanese prime minister, currently heads a committee on bilateral cooperation, consisting of politicians and businesspeople from Japan and South Korea.
He and Park are likely to have discussed pending bilateral matters, such as the wartime labor issue. They are also believed to have exchanged views on the current situation in East Asia, including their response to North Korea's repeated ballistic missile launches.
Park later told reporters that the leaders of Japan and South Korea have a strong will to improve bilateral ties. He added he had told Aso that better relations will benefit the interests of both countries.
After the meeting, Aso offered flowers at a memorial for victims of a crowd crush that occurred in the Itaewon district on Saturday.