Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, left, and his wife, Yuko Kishida, head toward a car after arriving at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, south of Seoul, Sept. 6, for a summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held talks in Seoul on Friday to discuss ways to deepen bilateral cooperation as Kishida is preparing to leave office with a legacy of improving long-frayed relations with Seoul.

Kishida arrived for a two-day visit for talks with Yoon, their 12th summit in just about two years. It will also be their last summit as Kishida has given up on reelection as prime minister and leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party after three years on the job.

During the summit, the two leaders plan to look back on the achievement of cooperation between the two countries and discuss ways to further move bilateral, regional and international cooperation forward, according to Yoon's office.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, second from left, and his wife, Yuko Kishida, left, are welcomed by a Korean official upon arrival at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Sept. 6, for his last summit with Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Yoon and Kishida have developed close bonds after Yoon decided last year to resolve the long-running row over Japan's wartime mobilization of Koreans for forced labor by compensating victims without asking Japanese firms for contributions.

The two leaders have since restored the long-suspended "shuttle diplomacy" of visiting each other whenever necessary and held a series of meetings on the sidelines of international conferences.

The restored ties have also significantly bolstered trilateral security cooperation with the United States in response to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.

In August 2023, U.S. President Joe Biden invited Yoon and Kishida to Camp David for a standalone summit, where the three leaders committed to strengthen joint responses to North Korea's threats and other regional security challenges. (Yonhap)