President Yoon Suk Yeol is embarking on a working visit to Japan for summit talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday.

This is the first visit to Japan by a South Korean president in about four years since former President Moon Jae-in visited Osaka in June 2019 to attend the Group of 20 summit.

It is also the first time in 12 years for the heads of the two nations to engage in so-called "shuttle diplomacy" since former President Lee Myung-bak visited Japan for a summit with then Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in December 2011.

Yoon and Kishida are expected to discuss ways to normalize relations, including follow-up steps to Seoul’s solution to wartime forced labor compensation plan, Japan's trade curbs and deepening economic cooperation.

Restoring the intelligence-sharing General Security of Military Information Agreement, or GSOMIA, is also expected to be addressed.

On the first day of the visit, Yoon will attend a luncheon with Korean residents of Japan, followed by the summit and dinner with Kishida.

The summit will be followed by a joint press conference but will not yield a joint declaration.