S. Korean Lawmakers to Visit Japan Next Week

Seoul, Jan. 7 (Jiji Press)--South Korean lawmakers belonging to the South Korea-Japan parliamentarians' league are planning to visit Japan on Jan. 14-16, sources with links to the suprapartisan group said Wednesday. They are hoping to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during the stay, according to the sources. The lawmakers will include Suh Chung-won, head of the group. He is also a heavyweight in South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party and close aide to South Korean President Park Geun-hye. The meeting between Suh and Abe, if realized, could help the two countries find ways to ease the ongoing tensions between them, the sources said. The members of the South Korean parliamentarians' league will also hold a meeting with their Japanese counterparts and attend an annual event of the pro-Seoul Korean Residents Union in Japan, or Mindan. END