President Lee Myung-bak met with Chairman Yasuhiro Nakasone and other delegates from the Japan-Korea Cooperation Council. The 24-member Japanese delegation visited Seoul to attend the 44th general meeting of the Council.

At the meeting, President Lee said, “Korea and Japan should be able to further develop bilateral relations through close cooperation even though the entire world is now facing severe difficulties stemming from the global financial crisis.”

Regarding the Korea-China-Japan summit scheduled for December 13, the President emphatically remarked, “Former Prime Minister Nakasone has long given good advice on cooperation among Korea, China and Japan. If the three countries can speak with a single voice at the summit, it will be conducive to helping build influence in the global community not only for our three countries, but also for Northeast Asia. Now is the time when cooperation among the three countries is crucial.”

On top of this, President Lee remarked, “The two nations have often witnessed snags in their strong relations. Korea and Japan have been dubbed as close but distant countries. Now is the time for us to pool efforts to overcome the distance.” 

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Japan-Korea Cooperation Council. President Lee extended appreciation to the members for their efforts and active undertakings aimed at improving bilateral relations over the past 40 years. In addition, the President called on the Council to make further efforts to ensure that the two countries forge ahead toward the future with mutual trust.

Chairman Nakasone briefed the President on the activities of the Japan-Korea Cooperation Council and expressed his wish for the success of the Korea-China-Japan summit.