It is reported that President Yoon Seok-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida exchanged "harmony wine" during a friendship meeting held yesterday (16th) evening after the ROK-Japan summit talks.

The two leaders first met and had dinner at Yoshizawa, a sukiyaki restaurant in downtown Tokyo.

We then moved to nearby Rengatei to continue our conversation.

President Yun, who was tipping his beer glass at the event, suggested that they drink Korean soju together in unison, and Prime Minister Kishida, who drank the beer and soju with it, reportedly responded with the expression "the taste of friendship between Korea and Japan."

It is said that Japanese sweet potato shochu also appeared.

When President Yun expressed his desire to advance ROK-Japan relations like never before during his term in office, Prime Minister Kishida also expressed strong sympathy.

Prime Minister Kishida, who promised a reciprocal visit to South Korea to restore "shuttle diplomacy," reportedly hoped to hold such a friendship event with President Yun during his later visit.

Meanwhile, the president's office dismissed that, contrary to some Japanese media reports, Dokdo issues were not mentioned in the talks the day before.

An official from the president's office told reporters that "there was no talk about Dokdo at all" and that "it did not come out of the small takeover talks and the expanded talks."

Regarding the report that Prime Minister Kishida had asked President Yun to implement the ROK-Japan Comfort Women agreement, he did not deny it, saying, "It is not appropriate to disclose all the contents of the discussion, and it would be better to focus on official announcements."

However, the official added, "At the beginning of the Moon Jae-in administration, we actually took steps that were close to breaking the agreement, and at the end of the term, we talked about it as if it was not a breakdown," adding, "It would be very helpful to understand the situation if we revealed what the MDP's position was."

(Photo = Yonhap News)