nhk world's yukiko shimada has this report from seoul. >> reporter: following his visit to new york and the united nations, foreign minister gemba chose south korea for his second overseas destination since taking office. this is aimed at showing how much the noda government cares about its relationship with neighboring south korea. >> translator: it is true that there are sometimes challenging problems between japan and south korea. however, it's of the utmost importance that we communicate frequently with each other and make efforts for the future as neighboring countries. >> translator: ties between south korea and japan have developed steadily based on close interactions among people. we also have to step up shuttle diplomacy at the governmental level. >> reporter: in addition to making arrangements for the summit, gemba and kim agreed that they will work closely together on north korea's nuclear issue and on that of abduction of japanese nationals by north korea. on the economic front, gemba stressed the need to resume talks toward reaching a bilateral economic partnership agreemen