TOKYO, May 21. /TASS/. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to discuss cooperation with Moscow in resolving the North Korea nuclear issue, as well as economic and humanitarian cooperation on the South Kuril Islands, during his upcoming visit to Russia, as he himself said at a meeting involving leaders of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party and cabinet members on Monday.

"I would like to advance the issue concerning joint economic cooperation on the Northern Territories [which is what Japan calls Russia’s South Kuril Islands - TASS] and humanitarian measures, including the arrangement of flights for former residents willing to visit their ancestors’ graves. I would also like to confirm cooperation in resolving the North Korea issue," Abe said as sited by the Kyodo news agency.

Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, in turn, pointed out at a press conference in Tokyo that the arrangement of charter flights to the South Kuril Islands was being discussed with Russia.

Japan’s government announced earlier that Abe would make a visit to Russia on May 24-27. On May 25, Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Japanese prime minister, French President Emmanuel Macron and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde are expected to participate in the plenary meeting of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). After that, as Russian Federation Council (upper house of parliament) Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said in late April, Abe will attend the opening ceremony of the Russia-Japan Year of Cultural Exchange, set to be held in Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater on May 26.