South Korean Prime Minister Kim Jong Pil has admitted that he is a fan of Japanese popular songs, which are officially still banned in his country by a policy that limits the entry of Japanese culture.

During a dinner hosted by his Japanese counterpart, Keizo Obuchi, on Thursday night, Kim spoke to Sachiko Kobayashi, a popular Japanese "enka" singer, who was one of the guests.

Kim reportedly invited Kobayashi to his table and told her that he has listened to her songs on NHK TV programs that are picked up in South Korea.

It is unusual for a South Korean prime minister to publicly admit being a fan of Japanese popular songs. His remarks at the dinner may suggest that Seoul is ready to take additional steps to allow more Japanese films and songs into the local market.

In October, South Korea lifted a decades-old ban on Japanese culture, allowing Japanese films coproduced by the two countries as well as international prize-winning Japanese films to be shown in the country.

Before that, South Korea had maintained a long-standing ban that grew out of the animosity built up during Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 through 1945.