S. Korea's Yoon to Visit Japan on Mar. 16 amid Improving Ties

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol is scheduled to visit Japan next Thursday for talks with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Both governments said Seoul's efforts to resolve a major dispute with Tokyo indicated signs of a thaw in frosty bilateral relations.

Yoon's two-day visit to Japan with his wife, Kim Kyun Hee, comes after South Korea announced on Monday its plan to settle a wartime labor compensation issue with Tokyo.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a press conference Thursday that South Korea is "an important partner for Japan working together to respond to various challenges in the international community."

Matsuno, a government spokesman, said Yoon's trip to Japan will likely further develop bilateral relations.

In Seoul, South Korea's presidential office mentioned that Yoon's trip would mark the resumption of mutual visits between the two countries' leaders, which had been suspended for 12 years, describing the travel as an "important milestone" toward improving bilateral relations.

Matsuno, the top government spokesman, said Yoon's trip to Japan will likely further develop bilateral ties.

South Korea hopes the two Asian countries will expand security and economic cooperation while promoting people-to-people exchanges "in order to overcome the unfortunate history of the past and move forward into the future," the office noted.

However, Yoon has been trying to improve relations with Japan since taking office last year while boosting military cooperation with the United States amid growing security threats from North Korea.

Meanwhile, Japan is considering inviting Yoon as a guest to the G7 summit, which is scheduled to be held in May in Hiroshima, according to diplomatic sources.

As this year's holder of the G7 presidency, Japan can decide which countries to invite to the three-day summit from May 19 as "communication" countries.