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Top What's up around the Prime Minister July, 2004
What's up around the Prime Minister

Japan-Republic of Korea Summit Meeting

Wednesday, July 21, 2004


The Photograph of Prime Minister Koizumi who Shakes Hands with Mr. Roh Moo Hyun The Photograph of Japan-Republic of Korea Summit Meeting The Photograph of the Two Leaders who Hold a Joint Press Conference The Photograph of the Two Leaders who Hold Talks on the Bench

Click photographs to enlarge


Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi left for Cheju Island of the Republic of Korea on the government plane from Haneda Airport in the afternoon of July 21, 2004.

Prime Minister Koizumi held a meeting with Mr. Roh Moo Hyun, the President of the Republic of Korea, immediately after arriving at the hotel in Seogwipo City.

At the meeting, the two leaders agreed on developing the Japan-Republic of Korea relations through exchange programs and others as the year 2005 marks the 40th anniversary of the normalization of relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea. Prime Minister Koizumi announced a policy for tourists from the Republic of Korea to be exempt from the requirement of obtaining a visa to travel to Japan during the Exposition of Global Harmony (2005 World Exposition), which is to be held in Aichi Prefecture from March 2005 onward. Furthermore, the two leaders agreed to hold regular Japan-Republic of Korea Summit meetings, thus allowing them to visit each other more frequently.

In addition, Prime Minister Koizumi and President Roh agreed to exert further efforts to facilitate the negotiation of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Japan and the Republic of Korea which aims to be concluded by the end of 2005. Moreover, with regards to the issues of North Korea, Prime Minister Koizumi gave accounts on the details of his meeting with Mr. Kim Jong-Il, the Chairman of the National Defense Commission during his second visit to North Korea in May. The two leaders reconfirmed their policy to strengthen the coordination among Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United States in order to have North Korea dispose of its nuclear programs.

After the meeting, the two leaders held a joint press conference, in which Prime Minister Koizumi said, "We talked about promoting the exchanges between Japan and the Republic of Korea in various areas, from politics, economy, culture, arts to sports. In particular, it should be well noted that President Roh and I share the view to work towards conclusion of a FTA."

After the press conference, a dinner party hosted by President Roh was held that night.

Next morning Prime Minister Koizumi took a walk with President Roh and had talks, sitting on the bench used for the last scene of the movie "Shuri".

Prime Minister Koizumi left for Japan in the afternoon of the day.