South Korean President Moon Jae-in expects that the government led by his successor, to be picked in an election next month, will keep striving to improve ties with Japan, describing it as a leftover task from his presidency.
In a recent written interview with major news agencies, Moon, whose five-year term ends in May, called Japan "the closest of neighboring countries," adding that his government has tried to achieve stable relations with Tokyo by approaching historical issues and future-oriented cooperation separately.
"I expect the next administration to work hard to develop Korea-Japan relations. It is necessary to strengthen dialogue and communication between Korea and Japan to deal with such new challenges as climate change responses and issues related to global supply chains, as well as matters regarding the past and the Korean Peninsula," Moon said.