Nakatani Mulls Visit to S. Korea

Seoul, Sept. 24 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani is considering visiting South Korea on the occasion of the 6th Military World Games on Oct. 2-11, informed sources said Thursday. Nakatani last visited the country in January 2011. A South Korean defense official said Nakatani hopes to realize the visit but no concrete date has been fixed. A Japanese defense source pointed out that working-level officials of the two countries have yet to arrange a schedule. Nakatani wants to pave the way for the first official meeting between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye, expected to be held in late October, by taking the military sports event as an opportunity to visit South Korea, people familiar with the matter said. The quadrennial games will be held in Mungyeong in Gyeongsangbuk-do and other venues. At least 100 countries are scheduled to participate in the event. Japan is not among the member countries but invitations have sent to nonmember countries, the sources said. END