US welcomes Japan-South Korea summit

Japan and South Korea agreed to resume regular visits between their leaders and take steps to resolve a trade dispute during a long-awaited summit Thursday. Japan's prime minister called their meeting a “big step” to rebuilding the two nations’ security and economic ties as they try to overcome a century of difficult history.

The summit could revise the strategic map of northeast Asia. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol both stressed the importance of improved ties as they opened the summit on Thursday. The United States welcomed the summit as well.