We start in New York City, where on Tuesday, local time, South Korean President Moon Jae-in sat down with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
The two leaders discussed issues related to North Korea as well as sticking points between Seoul and Tokyo.
Seo Bobin reports.
Meeting on the sidelines of the UN Assembly,... President Moon and Prime Minister Abe got down to business as it concerns their two neighboring countries.
On the issue of North Korea,... President Moon stressed the importance of strengthening ties between Pyeongyang and Tokyo... with the aim of speeding up the process of denuclearization,... and offered his active support and cooperation to bring about a summit between Abe and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The President added that he had relayed to Kim Japan's stance on the matter of Japanese citizens kidnapped by the North, for which the Japanese leader thanked President Moon and expressed his respect for the leadership the President showed in the most recent inter-Korean summit.
They also discussed some uncomfortable subjects for Seoul and Tokyo.
Prime Minister Abe brought up the agreement signed in late 2015,... under which the former Park Geun-hye administration agreed to settle the issue of Japan's sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War Two once and for all -- in exchange for one billion Japanese yen, translating to some 8-point-8 million U.S. dollars.
President Moon, according to his spokesperson, said that while he and his adminstration will not abandon or ask to renegotiate the agreement,... he cannot approve of a deal not accepted by most of the Korean people, including the victims themselves.
The President reportedly told his Japanese counterpart that the controversial foundation set up to support the victims of sexual slavery is not fully functioning.
"The President explained the reality that voices in Korea are calling strongly for the foundation to be dissolved. President Moon Jae-in highlighted the need to reach a wise conclusion."
It was the first time that the President had discussed dissolving the Japan-funded foundation.
The Moon administration had previously declared that the 2015 agreement between the former government and Japan is seriously flawed, and in May put the one billion yen in escrow.
Seo Bobin, Arirang News.
