Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Sunday he and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol had agreed to work for an early settlement of wartime labor issues that have pushed bilateral ties to arguably their lowest point in decades.
The deal was struck on the fringes of summits involving the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and its partners in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh. It was the first official meeting between the two countries' leaders in almost three years.
"We will make efforts toward an early resolution of the matters of concern," Kishida told reporters after holding talks with Yoon, noting "accelerating" discussions on the issues between their diplomatic authorities.