NEWS
JAPANESE AND S. KOREAN LEADERS BONDED OVER BEER, SOJU AND SWEET POTATO LIQUOR DURING STATE VISIT
By Susan Lewis
24-3-2023
Source: Japan PM's Office/Twitter
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida bonded over alcoholic drinks in a private restaurant during Yoon's state visit to Japan last Thursday.
The two countries simultaneously dropped their claims in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) against each other yesterday in the latest sign of improving ties.
President Yoon's Japan visit last week was the first bilateral summit between the two countries in 12 years. The two sides agreed to work past their troubled history and mend ties.
Japanese media reported that the two leaders visited the century-old restaurant Rengatei in Ginza district for dinner and drinks after holding summit talks earlier in the day last Thursday.
Opened in 1895, Rengatei is one of the oldest still-operating Western-style restaurants in Japan and is known as the birthplace of Japanese pork cutlets and fried rice omlette.
Japanese media said the pair ordered sukiyaki beef and fried rice omelette. They shared glasses of beer to start, Yoon then suggested they add Soju, the traditional Korean distilled liquor, to the mix as a symbol of harmony.
The pair also tasted a Japanese sweet potato liquor to wrap up the evening of food and drinks.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported that the official summit meeting held earlier during the day lasted for 85 minutes.
The two leaders agreed to resume reciprocal visits and security dialogues, and took steps to resolve trade disputes that erupted in 2019. They also agreed to normalise an intelligence-sharing agreement, which South Korea had threatened to scrap.
(the writer can be contacted at: info@thewinechronicle.com)
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