A summit broadly agreed upon by South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is likely to take place in Seoul early next week after the three-day Chuseok holidays end, government sources said Sunday.
But details, including its schedule and agenda, have not yet been determined, they said.
Last week, Roh and Abe agreed during a telephone conversation to resume stalled summit talks to improve South Korea-Japan relations "at an appropriate time." Seoul has been considering holding the summit after Chuseok, which falls on Oct. 5-7 this year, and before the middle of the month. The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said earlier that it will seek to set the summit date in consideration of the Chuseok holiday.
South Korea has boycotted summit talks with Japan for nearly a year in protest over repeated visits by Abe's predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi, to a Tokyo war shrine accused of glorifying Tokyo's past militarism.
The summit, if held, will be the first since November last year when Roh met Koizumi on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in South Korea's southern city of Busan.
Meanwhile, Roh is also planning to visit Beijing in mid-October for a summit with Chinese leader Hu Jintao to have in-depth discussions on bilateral economic cooperation and the North Korean nuclear arms issue.
Seoul, Oct. 1 (Yonhap News)
S. Korea, Japan summit likely in Seoul next week, sources say |
