YOON TO HOLD TALKS WITH JAPAN

[Anchor Lead]

President Yoon is to hold bilateral summits with his U.S. and Japanese counterparts on the sidelines of the U.N. general assembly slated for next week in New York. It will be the first South Korea-Japan summit since December 2019. All eyes are on whether the agenda will include historic disputes between the two nations such as wartime forced labor of Koreans by Japanese colonists.

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The presidential office says the South Korean leader will hold bilateral summits with his American and Japanese counterparts on the sidelines of the U.N. general assembly slated for next week in New York. A trilateral meeting was held back in June at the NATO summit. This time President Yoon will meet with each of them one on one. The summits are scheduled for Sept. 21 and 22 Korea time.

[Soundbite] Kim Tae-hyo(First deputy dir., Nat’l Security Office) : "The timeline is not fixed yet, but we have agreed on holding bilateral summits with the U.S. and Japan, and are discussing the dates."

It will be the first Seoul-Tokyo summit since Dec. 2019, when President Moon Jae-in and late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met. The sitting South Korean leader is meeting a Japanese PM for the first time since taking office. The presidential office says both sides willingly agreed to meet up. However, the session will only last half an hour due to tight schedules. Attention is focused on whether sensitive bilateral issues like wartime forced labor will be discussed. According to Seoul's top office the agenda hasn't been finalized. The presidential office added that the government has been discussing bilateral issues with Tokyo behind closed doors and the upcoming meeting will take place with everything in check. This South Korea-U.S. summit will be the first to take place since May. All eyes are on whether topics will include the Inflation Reduction Act, which puts Korean companies at a disadvantage. During his seven-day trip, Yoon will also attend the funeral of late Queen Elizabeth II in the U.K. and meet with his Canadian counterpart. The top office says the president will emphasize the value of freedom and focus on economic diplomacy.