Yoon and his delegation including staff members departed from Seoul Airport in Seongnam south of the capital city on an Air Force presidential jet at around 9:50 a.m. (0050 GMT) on March 16. After arriving in Japan, Yoon's first schedule will be to attend a meeting with South Korean residents in Tokyo before participating in a summit meeting with Prime Minister Kishida.
The summit meeting between South Korea and Japan is expected to focus on strengthening economic and security cooperation, including the lifting of Japan's export restrictions on semiconductor materials and the normalization of the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA).
The resumption of the South Korea-Japan Security Policy Consultative Meeting and the Diplomatic Vice-Ministerial Strategic Dialogue, which were suspended due to strained relations between the two countries, is also on the agenda.
The leaders of South Korea and Japan are also expected to exchange opinions on Tokyo's "Sincere response" about the controversial issue of forced labor mobilization during the Imperial Japanese colonial rule (1910~1945).
The two leaders will hold a joint conference after the meeting to report the results of the summit meeting. The South Korean presidential office said that there would be no separate joint statement issued at this summit meeting.
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