Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol agreed Friday during phone talks to improve bilateral ties frayed over wartime issues and expressed hope to soon meet in person.

Kishida and Yoon, who won Wednesday's presidential election, also agreed to coordinate closely in addressing threats posed by nuclear-armed North Korea, which has repeatedly fired missiles in recent months, and the issue of Japanese nationals abducted in the 1970s and 1980s by Pyongyang, the prime minister said.

"Japan and South Korea are important neighbors and healthy bilateral ties are essential in protecting the rules-based international order and in ensuring peace, stability and prosperity in the region and the world," Kishida told reporters after their roughly 15-minute call.