S. KOREA, JAPAN TO RESUME SHUTTLE DIPLOMACY

[Anchor Lead]

President Yoon held a bilateral summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Thursday. The two decided to join hands in strengthening cooperation in the economy and national security, agreeing to normalize the general security of military information agreement GSOMIA, which Korea scrapped after Japan imposed export restrictions.

[Pkg]

President Yoon and Japanese PM Kishida shake hands with smiles on their faces. The two leaders stand side by side as the national anthems of the two countries play in the background. Yoon saluted the Korean flag by placing his hand over his chest, while his Japanese counterpart bowed in front of the Japanese flag. At the ensuing summit, the two heads of state agreed to resuming shuttle diplomacy.

[Soundbite] Fumio Kishida(Japanese Prime Minister) : "We have agreed to resume shuttle diplomacy without being tied down by formality."

[Soundbite] Yoon Suk Yeol(President) : "I hope we will be able to work closely together to usher in a new era for S. Korea-Japan relations."

The South Korean and Japanese leaders have agreed to normalize the general security of military information agreement GSOMIA, which Korea scrapped after Japan imposed export restrictions.

[Soundbite] Yoon Suk Yeol(President) : "I declare a complete normalization of the GSOMIA so the two nations can share information on N. Korea’s missile launches."

The two leaders have also agreed to resume security dialogue, which was suspended in 2018. In addition to the trilateral economic security council of South Korea, the U.S. and Japan, the two nations will start a bilateral economic security dialogue to strengthen their semiconductor supply chain. The two leaders expressed hope for a trilateral summit of South Korea, China and Japan as a result of improved bilateral ties.

[Soundbite] Kim Sung-han(Nat’l Security advisor) : "The two leaders stressed S. Korea-Japan and S. Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation to counter N. Korea’s threats to peace and stability."

The Japanese prime minister has also promised to consider visiting Korea when the time is right. The two leaders say they will meet as often as needed from now on without being tied down by formality to work out the details of their agreements.