Visiting Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and South Korean President Kim Dae Jung agreed Monday to cooperate over North Korea and to conclude negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty by the end of the year.
The two leaders also agreed in their talks at Seoul's Blue House presidential office to jointly work toward ensuring the success of July's Group of Eight summit in Okinawa and the Asia-Europe Meeting summit, to be held in Seoul in October, they told a news conference.
In the meeting, Kim urged Mori to grant permanent foreign residents of Japan the right to vote in local elections by the end of the year. The prime minister promised to consider the request seriously.
Another major topic covered in the talks was the first-ever summit between North and South Korea, scheduled for June 12-14 in Pyongyang.