South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will hold a meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit which will be hosted by Laos next week, the Yonhap news agency reported,

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol held his first telephone call with Japan's new Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Wednesday and agreed a united response together with the United States is needed to counter North Korea's threats, his office said.

In his first phone call with the South Korean leader, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba stressed the importance of the two countries’ maintaining close communications,

South Korea looks forward to working together with Japan's new cabinet to forge positive ties with its closest neighbour and partner, its foreign ministry said, in comments made after the election of Shigeru Ishiba as leader of Japan's ruling party.

New Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba plans to have his first summit with Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on the margins of annual regional gatherings in Laos next week, Japan's broadcaster NHK reported Thursday.