South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met in Nara, Takaichi's hometown, on Tuesday and agreed to strengthen bilateral ties and cooperation at a time of rising geopolitical uncertainty around the world.

"I believe cooperation between Korea and Japan is now more important than ever and anything else, as we have to continue moving forward to a new, better future amid this complex, unstable international order," Lee said at the outset of the summit.