South Korea's Lee in Tokyo to highlight friendly ties with Japan before key summit with Trump

“I came to Japan today with a conviction to boldly break away from past practices, pursuing pragmatic diplomacy centered on national interest and opening a path toward future-oriented, mutually benefitial coopration between the countries,” Lee told a joint press conference after two summit sessions.

First new South Korean leader to visit Japan before the US

Lee — who met Ishiba on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in June — said he is the first South Korean president since the 1965 normalization of the bilateral ties to choose Japan as the first destination for a bilateral summit after taking office.

Japanese officials see it as a sign of Lee placing great importance on relations between the two neighbors whose ties have repeatedly been disrupted by historical disputes, hampering their trilateral coordination with Washington.

“It is more important than ever for the two countries to cooperate,” Ishiba said. ”The president and I share this view since his inauguration and I feel encouraged."

For Ishiba, who faces pressure from rightwing rivals within his governing party to resign over its July election loss, Lee’s visit could also be a boost.

Saturday’s summit was aimed at highlighting the two nations' good ties as this year marks the 60th anniversary of normalizing their diplomatic relations.

Regional challenges and Trump

Rintaro Nishimura, an associate with The Asia Group’s Japan branch, said the timing of Lee’s visit shows his style "of pragmatic diplomacy,” with a focus both on bilateral and trilateral relations with the U.S.

“Tariffs play a big part, but I also think it was a gesture from Lee to show that Japan is very important in his mind as a partner in his foreign policy,” he said.

Ishiba, who met Trump in Washington in February and held talks with him at the June G7 summit, has settled a tariffs deal ahead of South Korea.

“We shared a recognition that in the face of a rapidly changing international situation, unwavering cooperation of South Korea-Japan and South Korea-U.S.-Japan is more important than ever,” Lee said.

Lee said they agreed to pursue "a virtuous cycle” in which their improved relations enhance their trilateral cooperation with the U.S.

Ishiba said they agreed to step up strategic dialogue in the areas of defense and economic security.

Japan's wartime past

The summit comes just days after the two leaders signaled their conciliatory approach to each other.

In his address last week marking the liberation from Japan’s 1910-1945 colonization of the Korean Peninsula, Lee called for the two sides to overcome grievances rooted in Japan’s brutal rule and develop future-oriented ties while also urging Tokyo to face unresolved issues and strive to maintain trust.

Also, Lee told Japan’s conservative Yomiuri newspaper in an interview published Thursday, that he will stick to past agreements with Japan on the forced labor issues and sexual abuses of the so-called “comfort women,” though many Koreans still harbor hard feelings.

Ishiba, who has acknowledged Japan’s wartime aggression and shown empathy toward Asian victims, expressed “remorse” over the war, which he called a mistake, restoring the word in a Japanese leader’s Aug. 15 surrender anniversary address for the first time since its 2013 removal by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

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Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.