S. Korean, Japanese officials meet ahead of leaders’ summit

By KIM TONG-HYUNG
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Senior South Korean and Japanese officials have discussed strengthening relations and coordinating responses to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats in a meeting ahead of a summit between their leaders. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will host on Sunday Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in their second summit since March. The two U.S. allies have been working to repair relations strained by historical grievances and tighten security cooperation to cope with North Korean nuclear threats. The talks between the South Korean and Japanese national security advisers were focused on the trilateral security cooperation with Washington and encouraging further global efforts to stem North Korean attempts to evade U.N. Security Council sanctions to fund its nuclear arms program.