South Korea and Japan are in talks to arrange a visit to Japan by President Lee Jae Myung next month for summit talks with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, a report said Thursday.
The two sides are looking to hold the summit in Nara Prefecture, Takaichi's home region, in mid-January, Kyodo News reported, citing diplomatic sources.
The trip, if realized, will mark Lee's second visit to the neighboring country after he visited Tokyo in August and held summit talks with Takaichi's predecessor, Shigeru Ishiba.
It would also reflect commitments made by the leaders of the two countries to continue the positive momentum in bilateral ties through "shuttle diplomacy," or reciprocal visits.
Ishiba visited South Korea's southern city of Busan for talks with Lee in September before he stepped down as prime minister.
Relations between Seoul and Tokyo have improved since the previous Yoon Suk Yeol government.
Lee has said he intends to advance ties with Japan in a future-oriented manner, while not overlooking longstanding wartime history issues stemming from the time when Korea was under Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.
Lee and Takaichi last held summit talks on Oct. 30 on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Gyeongju and briefly met on the margins of the Group of 20 leaders' gathering in South Africa last week.
