SKorean FM to visit Japan next week

Seoul, July 15 : South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin will embark on a three-day trip to Japan next week to discuss areas of bilateral relations and North Korea, Seouls foreign ministry said Friday.

Parks trip from Monday to Wednesday will be the first by a foreign minister to the neighbouring country under the new South Korean administration led by President Yoon Suk-yeol.

The ministry said Park will "hold a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and discuss issues of mutual interest, such as Korea-Japan relations and the Korean Peninsula issue."Park will also express condolences over the recent death of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Yonhap news agency reported quoting the ministry.

On Monday, the foreign minister paid his respects to the late Abe in Seoul at the Japanese embassys public information and cultural center.Park mourned Abes death and offered his condolences, three days after he was fatally shot during an election campaign speech.

The minister said earlier this week that the Yoon administration will keep striving for a "reasonable resolution" to pending issues between Seoul and Tokyo through various related efforts, including his visit to Japan "at a mutually convenient time."int/svn/ #SKorean #Japan #Seoul.