Roh embarked on his second Japanese visit Friday. He was to meet Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi during his two-day stay on the southern Japanese resort island of Kagoshima.

Roh's Japan trip is a reciprocal one of Koizumi's visit to South Korean southmost island Jeju in this summer. Roh made a state visit to Japan in June 2003.

Without too much formality, the two leaders will try to build more leisure atmosphere during their talks on the Japanese island.South Korean national news agency Yonhap's picture shows that Roh left the Seoul Airport without necktie.

However, Roh's Japan trip is a busy one with a lot of issues tobe discussed with Koizumi.

"Focus will be put on ways to pursue a peaceful resolution to the North Korean (DPRK) nuclear issue and enhance cooperation between South Korea and Japan with the aim of improving inter-Korean relations," Chung Woo-sung, Roh's foreign policy adviser said on Wednesday.

It seemed the most urgent thing of Roh-Koizumi's meeting is the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula. Roh Moo-hyun was reported to discuss with Koizumi the ways to persuade Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to return to the negotiating table.

The fourth round six-party nuclear talks aimed to resolve the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula failed to be held as schedule in September. And concerning countries expressed pessimism over resumption of the multilateral negotiation within this year.

China, DPRK, the United States, Russia, South Korea and Japan are the participants of the six-nation talks.

Seoul hopes the multilateral negotiations will reopen as early as possible for a late resumption and resolution of the nuclear issue would hurt the inter-Korean relations.

The upcoming summit is also likely to touch on mounting anger in Japan over Pyongyang's recent submission of false ashes of a missing Japanese abductees.Two days ahead of Roh's departure, South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon voiced concern that if Japan poses economic sanction over DPRK it may complicate efforts to solve the standoff over the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.

Koizumi indicated on Thursday that Japan will handle the issue in a comprehensive manner in cooperation with South Korea, the United States and other countries involved in the six-way talks Another important issue is developing a future-oriented Seoul-Tokyo relationship, including ways to expedite the ongoing talks for signing of an Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Japan, according to Chung.

Roh and Koizumi had already agreed to conclude the FTA talks by the end of 2005 to substantially enhance bilateral trade and investment. Seoul and Tokyo have been engaged in negotiations on signing the FTA on six occasions since December last year.

Also high on the agenda will be personnel and cultural exchanges.The two leaders will also discuss ways for more people of the two nations to take part in the "South Korea-Japan Friendship Year" which falls on next year on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral ties in 1965, Chung said.

As a means of enhancing personnel exchanges, Roh and Koizumi will likely discuss the possibility of Japan exempting entry visas for South Koreans, the aide said.

Roh and Koizumi will also likely discuss possible increasing the number of the weekly flights between South Korea's Gimpo and Japan's Haneda airports. There are now four flights a day on the Gimpo-Haneda route to facilitate easier access to Seoul and Tokyo.

However, the Roh's senior aid said Roh will not likely raise the history issue during the Kagoshima summit, adding that "President Roh's position is that Japan should take measures on its own on the past history issue."

In the Jeju summit in July, Roh said he would not raise the thorny issue of Japan's justification for its colonization of the Korean Peninsula during his tenure, which expires in early 2008.

On Japan's new defense guidelines for more-active operations domestically and abroad by the Japanese Self Defense Forces, Chungsaid Roh will not likely raise the issue first.

This is the seventh summit meeting between Roh and Koizumi since the former's inauguration in February last year.

Source: Xinhua