Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Monday that he and Kim Jong Pil, a former prime minister of South Korea, reaffirmed the need for close cooperation on issues related to North Korea.
"We agreed that Japan, South Korea and the United States must cooperate" to resolve North Korea-related issues, Koizumi told reporters after a morning meeting with Kim.
Kim visited Koizumi's office in his capacity as the South Korean chief of the bilateral parliamentary league.
Koizumi added that both he and Kim welcome a plan for the U.S., China and North Korea to hold tripartite talks on the issue this week.