Topic analysis

South Korea, Japan agree to boost energy cooperation

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held their fourth bilateral meeting in six months in Andong, South Korea, agreeing to boost energy cooperation—including stabilizing supply lines, expanding Indo-Pacific energy reserves, and exploring mutual swap transactions for crude oil, petroleum products, and LNG—amid global supply chain instability and regional security challenges. The leaders also reaffirmed stronger security coordination with each other and the U.S., committed to advancing shuttle diplomacy to mend long-strained ties rooted in Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, and noted shared concerns over North Korea’s nuclear program and U.S.-China strategic competition.