Lee to visit Japan Sunday over security issues

By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, June 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak will visit Japan
Sunday for talks with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, Seoul's presidential
office said Monday, amid escalating tension over North Korea's nuclear ambition.

The South Korean president will make a one-day visit to Tokyo on June 28,
according to the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.
"President Lee plans to exchange his views with Prime Minister Aso on a variety
of issues, including the North Korean nuclear issue, Korea-Japan relations and
cooperation between the countries in the region and the international community,"
the office said in a press release.
Lee's trip to the Japanese capital comes as the countries and their biggest ally,
the United States, are working to find ways to contain the communist North.
North Korea conducted its second nuclear test on May 25, prompting strong
condemnation from the U.N. Security Council in a new resolution that also placed
various sanctions on the isolated nation.
Pyongyang voiced its rejection the U.N. resolution and vowed to reinforce its
nuclear arsenal.
The South Korean president is also expected to brief the Japanese head of state
on the outcome of his recent trip to the United States where he and U.S.
President Barack Obama agreed in bilateral talks to take stern measures against
what they called belligerent and provocative actions by North Korea.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)