Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in South Korea on Sunday as Seoul and Tokyo seek to resume their "shuttle diplomacy" and mend relations in the face of growing nuclear threats from Pyongyang, AFP reports.

This is the first visit by a Japanese Prime Minister to South Korea in over ten years.

First Kishida, visited went to the Seoul National Cemetery, where war veterans, including those who fought against Japanese colonial rule, are buried, to lay flowers and pay their respects.

The Japanese PM will later hold a key summit with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who had previously visited Tokyo. The two neighboring countries are both US security allies but have long been at odds over historical issues related to Japan's brutal colonial occupation of the Korean peninsula.

Efforts to rebuild ties come as the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un - who declared his country an "irreversible" nuclear power last year - redoubles efforts to develop and test weapons.