In this Sept. 21 file photo, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol shakes hands with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in New York. Courtesy of South Korea's presidential office

By Nam Hyun-woo

Speculations of a Korea-Japan summit have erupted ahead of two major multilateral summits to be held later in November, following an increase of political interaction between officials of the two countries.

President Yoon Suk-yeol and Taro Aso, vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) of Japan had a close-door meeting on Tuesday. Aso, as the head of a Japan-South Korea cooperation committee, paid a courtesy visit to the South Korean president

Details of the Yoon-Aso meeting were not made public as the presidential office released a short statement confirming the meeting.

Yoon asked about Aso's role in developing the bilateral relations through promoting people-to-people exchanges. The former Japanese prime minister responded that conversations and cooperation should continue between the two countries, and pledged his efforts for the speedy recovery and further development of bilateral relations.

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, right, shakes hands with former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso during their meeting at a hotel in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs

On Wednesday morning, Aso had a meeting with Seoul's Foreign Minister Park Jin. Park told reporters that the two countries' leaders have intentions to improve bilateral relations, and that improved ties will be beneficial for each other's national interests.

Along with Aso, a bipartisan group of lawmakers from Japan visited Seoul on Wednesday to attend a joint general meeting of the Korea-Japan Parliamentarians' Union and the Japan-Korea Parliamentarians' Union on Wednesday.

The Japanese lawmakers offered their condolences to the victims of the Halloween crowd crush in Itaewon, Seoul, during a visit to the memorial altar in Seoul Plaza, on Wednesday evening. In the deadly disaster on Saturday night, at least 156 people have died, including two Japanese nationals.

Ruling conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lawmaker Fukushiro Nukaga, chairman of the Japan-Korea Parliamentarians' Union, signed the condolence book.

During Wednesday's meeting between South Korean and Japanese lawmakers, Seoul's ruling People Power Party interim chief Chung Jin-suk said, "The pending issues between the two countries can be addressed for the sake of their mutual benefits and national interests."