Japan May Hold Summit with S. Korea in Sept.: Official

Tokyo, June 29 (Jiji Press)--The first bilateral summit between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye could take place on the sidelines of the annual U.N. General Assembly session in New York in late September, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said Monday. "The Japanese and South Korean leaders may be able to hold a one-on-one meeting if a trilateral summit among the two countries and China is held in early autumn or if Park attends the U.N. session," Deputy Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama said in a speech in Tokyo. No specific date for a possible Abe-Park meeting has been set, he said. But Sugiyama added that the Japan-South Korea relationship, which has been strained due to history and territorial issues, may start to significantly change around this autumn if the recently budding positive atmosphere continues. END