Japan-ROK Summit Meeting (Summary)

[Provisional translation]

On July 12, commencing at 1:05 p.m. (local time. 7:05 p.m. on July 12, JST) for approximately 30 minutes, Mr. KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan held a summit meeting with H.E. Mr. YOON Suk Yeol, President of the Republic of Korea (ROK), during his visit to Lithuania for the NATO Summit. The summary of the bilateral meeting is as follows.

1. Prime Minister Kishida welcomed the progress of cooperation between the governments and the private sectors of both countries in a wide range of fields, as the leaders of Japan and the ROK work together to pave the way for a new era in the Japan-ROK bilateral relations. The two leaders concurred on making further efforts so that the improvement of bilateral relations can be felt among the people of both countries. The two leaders affirmed the progress in dialogue and cooperation in areas such as finance, aviation and export control, and decided to coordinate towards the holding of the Japan-ROK high-level economic consultations within this year. The two leaders also decided to actively work on expanding exchanges in the field of education.
2. Regarding the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) Treated Water, Prime Minister Kishida mentioned the Comprehensive Report issued by IAEA, and reiterated, as Prime Minister of Japan, that every possible measure would be taken to ensure the safety of discharge and that any discharge that would harm the health of Japanese and Korean citizens or the marine environment would not occur. He also explained that Japan will, after the discharge has commenced, publish monitoring information in a transparent and prompt manner while undergoing the review by the IAEA, and should a problem be detected during this monitoring process such as unusual value of concentration of the radioactive materials, Japan will take appropriate measures as planned, including immediate suspension of the discharge. President Yoon explained the position of the ROK, including that the ROK respects the contents of the IAEA Comprehensive Report. The two leaders concurred on continuing close communications between the relevant authorities of both countries.
3. The two leaders strongly condemned the ICBM-class ballistic missile launch by North Korea on July 12 as a threat to international peace and security. The two leaders concurred that strengthening Japan-ROK-U.S cooperation has never been more important than now, and that they will continue to work closely with each other including at the Japan-ROK-U.S. Summit proposed by the U.S., in dealing with North Korea including on the abductions issue. The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening cooperation towards the realization of a free and open Indo-Pacific.