Japan and South Korea will work together to push for the denuclearization of North Korea and work closely with the United States to achieve world peace and stability, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and President Lee Myung Bak agreed Monday in Tokyo.
Fukuda called North Korean issues the "biggest common agenda" for Tokyo and Seoul. Lee said he and Fukuda shared the view that the North's nuclear development threatens the peace of Northeast Asia as well as the rest of the world.
Lee's stance on building friendly ties with Japan on a number of issues is a clear departure from his predecessor, Roh Moo Hyun, who repeatedly appealed to anti-Japan and anti-U.S. sentiment in South Korea.