S. Korean president returns home after summit with Japanese leader

TOKYO, June 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak headed home
Sunday following a one-day trip here for talks with Japanese leaders and business
representatives focusing on North Korea and ways to improve bilateral
cooperation.
Lee's visit to the Japanese capital began with his meeting a group of leaders
from an organization representing nearly 500,000 Korean residents here.
He later held a bilateral summit with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, in which
the two leaders appealed for the international community to implement
U.N.-imposed sanctions for the communist nation's latest atomic test on May 25.
"The final aim of the sanctions will not be to punish the North, but to persuade
North Korea to give up nuclear weapons and become part of the international
community," Lee said in a joint press conference with the Japanese prime
minister.
The South Korean leader's trip here came as part of the two countries' so-called
"shuttle diplomacy" that seeks to improve Seoul-Tokyo ties through frequent
meetings between their leaders.
Sunday's meeting between Lee and Aso marked the eighth of its kind since the
Japanese prime minister came into office in September.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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