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Seoul, Aug 20 (IANS) South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said Wednesday relations with Japan are "very important" with many opportunities for mutual cooperation.

Kim made the remarks during a meeting with Japanese delegates visiting Seoul to attend the Korea-Japan Forum, as President Lee Jae Myung was set to visit Tokyo later this week for summit talks with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Yonhap News Agency reported.

"With the launch of the new administration, South Korea and Japan are moving forward on a future-oriented path," Kim said. "The two countries have a very important relationship with many areas of mutual cooperation, and the president's decision to visit Japan was made in that context."

The Japanese delegates expressed Tokyo's commitment to continue efforts in building "a more mature, robust and future-oriented" bilateral relationship.

The delegation included former Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Yasumasa Nagamine, acting chair of the forum, and Japanese lawmakers.

The Korea-Japan Forum is an annual forum launched in 1993 to promote high-level talks between the two countries.

Lee was set to depart for Tokyo for a summit with Ishiba, before traveling to Washington for his first summit with US President Donald Trump on August 25.

Earlier on August 15, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said he would pursue "forward-looking, mutually beneficial cooperation" with Japan through active "shuttle diplomacy" while expressing hope that Japan will squarely face up to its history of wartime aggression.

Lee made the remarks in his speech marking the 80th anniversary of the Korean Peninsula's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule as he was set to visit Tokyo for summit talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba later this month shortly before a planned summit with US President Donald Trump, Yonhap News Agency reported.

"Guided by the principle of pragmatic, national interest-focused diplomacy, we will seek forward-looking, mutually beneficial cooperation with Japan while holding frequent meetings and frank dialogues through shuttle diplomacy," Lee said.

Marking also the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations, Lee said Seoul and Tokyo should face their painful history and redefine bilateral ties to move forward, describing Japan as "a neighbor across the sea" and "an indispensable partner" in economic development.

"I hope that the Japanese government will squarely face up to our painful history and strive to maintain trust between our two countries," he said.

--IANS

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