Japanese PM Leave for Seoul for Talks with S. Korean President

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda will leave for Seoul on Tuesday evening to hold talks with South Korean President Lee Myung Bak. Noda chose South Korea as his first destination for a bilateral meeting after taking office in early September believing that closer ties with the neighboring country would be a shortcut to achieve stability and prosperity for Japan and the Asia-Pacific region as a whole. During the two-day visit, Noda is hoping to lay the groundwork for resuming stalled negotiations on signing a bilateral free trade agreement and exchange views on the situation in North Korea, according to Japan''s News Agency (Kyodo). Noda is also expected to renew Japan''s invitation for Lee to visit Tokyo by the end of this year when they hold talks on Wednesday morning.