South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said Sept. 15 that he hopes Emperor Akihito will visit Seoul next year to "put an end to the sense of distance" between the two countries as 2010 marks a century since the start of Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

Lee also expressed strong hope for the development of bilateral relations under the new government of Democratic Party of Japan leader Yukio Hatoyama.

"I hope relations between the two countries will make a leap toward a higher level where we can trust each other completely," he said in an interview at the presidential Blue House in Seoul.

Lee also said North Korea may reach out to the new government following its conciliatory gestures to the United States and South Korea.

He stressed the need for each member of the six-party talks to take united action to get North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions. Lee also voiced caution on possible progress in dialogue between Japan and North Korea without addressing the nuclear issue.