closer

President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday wrapped up his two-day visit to Japan that raised prospects for closer economic cooperation with Tokyo as well as efforts to test remains of Korean forced laborers.

Lee held summit talks with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Nara on Tuesday, their second meeting in just over two months, as the two countries face mounting challenges ranging from a volatile trade environment to a complex international order.

This week’s summit came after Lee held summit talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing early last week amid heightened tension between Beijing and Tokyo over Takaichi’s remarks on Taiwan.

China recently imposed restrictions on exports of dual-use items to Japan, raising concerns that it could choke off supplies of rare earth minerals critical to high-tech manufacturing.

Against this backdrop, Lee and Takaichi agreed to move bilateral relations forward through “future-oriented cooperation” in areas including supply chains, artificial intelligence (AI), culture and society.

They also made what Lee described as “small but meaningful progress” on historical issues, agreeing to conduct DNA analysis on remains discovered last August at the Chosei undersea coal mine in Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture, where a 1942 flood killed 183 people, including 136 Korean forced laborers.

The issue of the Chosei coal mine was the first item raised by Takaichi during Tuesday’s talks, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lack said, noting the two leaders agreed to “strengthen humanitarian cooperation related to historical issues.”

The Nara summit signaled a deliberate effort to institutionalize top-level engagement, dubbed “shuttle diplomacy,” as Seoul and Tokyo — key U.S. allies in Asia — navigate diplomacy amid rising regional tensions and supply chain risks.

Concerns had persisted that ties could deteriorate under Takaichi, a conservative leader known for her hawkish views on history, but Lee’s second visit to Japan since August last year has raised cautious optimism that the two sides can find common ground while broadening economic cooperation.

During the summit talks, South Korea reaffirmed its bid to join the 12-member Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Wi said.

While past efforts to join the multilateral trade pact led by Tokyo were stymied by South Korea’s ban on seafood imports from eight Japanese prefectures following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, the latest top-level discussions raised cautious hope for progress in upcoming consultations.

Supply chain stability was also a key topic, with the two leaders sharing a consensus on the need to cooperate in establishing stable supply chains, although Wi did not specify whether Beijing’s export controls were directly discussed.

Amid tensions between Beijing and Tokyo, Lee avoided taking sides and instead emphasized the need for Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing to identify common ground for cooperation in Northeast Asia.

The talks also sketched out cooperation beyond trade, with the two sides agreeing to launch working-level consultations on AI and intellectual property rights and to strengthen joint responses to transnational crimes such as online scams.

Takaichi said she would work closely with Lee to promote regional stability and supply chain security, expressing hope that the visit would further elevate bilateral ties.

Security coordination featured prominently as well.

“The two countries reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of lasting peace, and agreed to continue close coordination on North Korea policy,” Lee said, adding that both sides share the importance of trilateral cooperation among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo.

In the summit that came days after Lee posed selfies together with Xi, optics were deliberately warm.

Lee and Takaichi exchanged gifts, played drums together to K-pop songs and visited an ancient temple in Nara, a carefully choreographed display of rapport.

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England were pushed towards the precipice of the fastest Ashes series defeat in more than 100 years as a Travis Head century maintained Australia’s grip on the third Test in Adelaide.

Head was dropped on 99 by Harry Brook and spent eight balls one run short of a hundred before belting Joe Root down the ground for four to draw a deafening roar from his home-town crowd at the Adelaide Oval.

The left-hander moved Australia’s second innings to 271-4 and their overall lead to 356 at the end of the third day.

If England’s third loss in as many Tests is completed on Saturday, it would mean the Ashes have been decided in 10 days of cricket.

Not since 1921, when Australia needed only eight days of play to win in England, has the destination of the urn been settled so swiftly.

Head’s inevitable ton snuffed out brief England hope that was raised when captain Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer added 73 runs in the morning session.

Stokes made 83 and Archer 51 in a stand of 106, the highest by an England ninth-wicket pair in Australia since 1924.

By creeping to 286 all out, 85 behind on first innings, England could have left themselves an outside chance by dismissing Australia for a total below 240 in their second innings.

At 53-2 and 149-4, England clung on before being cut adrift by Head. At some point, England will be tasked with pulling off the highest successful chase on this ground in order to keep the Ashes alive.

Of further concern to the visitors is the fitness of all-rounder Stokes, who is yet to bowl in the 66 overs of Australia’s second innings.

US President Donald Trump has said that an agreement to end Russia’s war on Ukraine is “closer than ever” after key leaders held talks in Berlin, but several officials said that significant differences remain over territorial issues.

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday that he had “very long and very good talks” with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the leaders of France, Germany, the United Kingdom and NATO.

“We’re having tremendous support from European leaders. They want to get it [the war] ended also,” he said.

“We had numerous conversations with President [Vladimir] Putin of Russia, and I think we’re closer now than we have been, ever, and we’ll see what we can do.”

Zelenskyy had earlier said that negotiations with US and European leaders were difficult but productive.

The high-level discussions, involving Zelenskyy, a US delegation led by envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and European leaders, took place in Berlin over two days amid mounting pressure from Washington for Kyiv to make concessions to Moscow to end one of Europe’s deadliest conflicts since World War II.

In a statement following the talks, European leaders said they and the US were committed to working together to provide “robust security guarantees” to Ukraine, including a European-led “multinational force Ukraine” supported by the US.

They said the force’s work would include “operating inside Ukraine” as well as assisting in rebuilding Ukraine’s forces, securing its skies and supporting safer seas. They said that Ukrainian forces should remain at a peacetime level of 800,000.

Two US officials, speaking to the Reuters news agency, described the proposed protections as “Article 5-like”, a reference to NATO’s Article 5 mutual defence pledge.

Ukraine had earlier signalled it may be willing to abandon its ambition to join the NATO military alliance in exchange for firm Western security guarantees.

Speaking to reporters in Berlin, Zelenskyy said that Kyiv needed a clear understanding of the security guarantees on offer before making any decisions on territorial control under a potential peace settlement. He added that any guarantees must include effective ceasefire monitoring.

Ukrainian officials have been cautious about what form such guarantees could take. Ukraine received security assurances backed by the US and Europe after gaining independence in 1991, but those did not prevent Russia’s invasions in 2014 and 2022.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Washington had offered “considerable” security guarantees during the Berlin talks.

“What the US has placed on the table here in Berlin, in terms of legal and material guarantees, is really considerable,” Merz said at a joint news conference with Zelenskyy.

“We now have the chance for a real peace process,” he said, adding that territorial arrangements remain a central issue. “Only Ukraine can decide about territorial concessions. No ifs or buts.”

Merz also said it was essential for the European Union to reach an agreement on using frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine to demonstrate to Moscow that continuing the war is futile. He warned that EU members must share the risks involved in appropriating those assets, or risk damaging the bloc’s reputation.

Meanwhile, the EU has adopted new sanctions targeting companies and individuals accused of helping Russia circumvent Western restrictions on oil exports that help finance the war.

In Moscow, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Putin was “open to peace and serious decisions” but opposed to what he described as “temporary respites and subterfuges”.

Reporting from Berlin, Al Jazeera’s Dominic Kane said the outcome of the talks remains unclear.

“We know American emissaries were speaking to Ukrainians here in Berlin yesterday and today. Talks between those two groups have finished, according to a statement by Zelenskyy’s office,” Kane said.

“What we don’t yet know is how much of the US-led 28-point plan – parts of which were acceptable to Moscow but strongly opposed by Kyiv and EU officials – remains intact.”

Kane added that the German government has presented a separate 10-point proposal focused on military and intelligence cooperation rather than a peace settlement. European leaders are expected to continue discussions on the remaining areas of disagreement.

Fighting continues

Meanwhile, Ukraine said on Monday that Russia launched 153 drones overnight, with 17 striking their targets.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said its forces destroyed 130 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory.

Kyiv said its underwater drones struck a Russian submarine docked at the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. Ukraine has stepped up naval attacks in recent weeks on what it has described as Russia-linked vessels in the Black Sea.

Russian forces have continued to target the Ukrainian port city of Odesa, with two Turkish cargo ships hit in recent days. Kyiv said the strikes were aimed at Russian targets.

Zelenskyy also accused Moscow of using its attacks as leverage in peace negotiations.

He said Russia has struck every power station in Ukraine as part of its campaign against the country’s energy infrastructure.