South Korean President and Japanese PM discuss LNG, AI, and regional security

Seoul (ANTARA) - The South Korean President Lee Jae-myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi discussed regional security, global crises, energy, and supply chains, according to the South Korean presidential office on Tuesday. The two leaders carried out an “open discussion” on a range of issues as strategic partners, said President Lee in a joint statement after their talks in Andong. “Specifically, we agreed that close bilateral cooperation is more necessary, given the instability of supply chains and energy markets due to the current situation in the Middle East region,” said President Lee. Both have the view that peace and stability in the Middle East must be restored as soon as possible. According to him, PM Takaichi proposed strengthening cooperation with other Asian countries facing resource supply disruptions. Lee added that Seoul supports this initiative. “Our two countries have agreed to deepen cooperation in LNG and crude oil, which are major energy sources,” President Lee said. It was also mentioned that they agreed to expand cooperation in LNG supply and strengthen coordination related to oil reserves and energy security. At the same time, they reaffirmed the importance of trilateral cooperation with the United States and discussed joint efforts in AI, space exploration, and biomedicine.