S. Korea's Lee hopes to improve ties with Japan for "friendly new world"

SEOUL - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Sunday called on Japan to maintain the recent thaw in ties to help usher in a "friendly new world" based on mutual understanding and reciprocal visits by each other's leaders.

In his first speech to commemorate the 1919 independence movement against Japan's colonial rule since becoming president, Lee reiterated the importance of cooperation between South Korea and Japan in the face of a rapidly shifting international landscape.