South Korea reaffirmed its intention to join the trans-Pacific trade pact during summit talks between President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, an official said Wednesday.
South Korea's National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said the two sides will continue discussions on Seoul's accession to the 12-member Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, according to Seoul-based Yonhap News.
The two sides also discussed Seoul's longstanding ban on seafood imports from eight Japanese provinces, imposed in 2013 in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Lee held a summit with Takaichi on Tuesday during his two-day trip to Japan.
The two leaders on Wednesday visited Horyuji, a World Heritage Buddhist temple in the western province of Nara, where the summit was held.
The temple complex hosts the world's oldest surviving wooden structure, said to date to 607, according to Tokyo-based Kyodo News.
Following their summit-level talks on Tuesday, Lee and Takaichi played drums, recalling the Japanese prime minister's university days when she played in a heavy metal band as a student.
Lee also gifted Takaichi a drum set made by the Korean brand Markers and a pair of drums crafted by a Korean lacquerware artisan.
The two maritime neighbors formally established ties in 1965, when Tokyo paid $500 million in economic assistance to South Korea to normalize ties.
Over the past decades, the bilateral trade volume has reached around $75 billion.
