Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is likely to visit South Korea early next month.

Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun said Saturday that Seoul and Tokyo officials are in the process of coordinating a schedule for Hatoyama to visit South Korea on October ninth.

Quoting multiple sources familiar with Seoul-Tokyo relations, the paper said Hatoyama is scheduled to visit South Korea on October ninth for summit talks with President Lee Myung-bak.

The report said efforts were apparently made for Hatoyama to visit Seoul ahead of a three-way summit meeting in Beijing to demonstrate that the ruling Democratic Party of Japan recognizes the importance of its ties with South Korea.

If realized, Hatoyama’s visit is expected to focus on North Korea’s nuclear issue and a possible visit of Japanese Emperor Akihito to South Korea.