President Moon Jae-in takes the short hop over the East Sea to Osaka this afternoon to attend the G20 Summit.
He commences his schedule with a crunch meeting on Thursday with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Once he's home, he'll be hosting U.S. President Donald Trump in Seoul as hope rises for a breakthrough in the impasse over North Korea's denuclearization.
Shin Se-min has more on the annual whirlwind of handshakes, how do you dos, and backroom deals.



The doors to some diplomatically-charged sessions open up in Japan on Thursday ahead of the two-day G20 Summit as the leaders fly into the 'city of water,' Osaka.
President Moon Jae-in will depart for Osaka on Thursday afternoon,... where his three-day schedule will begin with a sit-down with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
Seoul's top office says President Moon will listen to the outcome of President Xi's visit to Pyeongyang last week and seek a continued and productive partnership with Beijing on Korean Peninsula-related issues.
Next on his schedule,... a dinner with around 400 Koreans living in Japan to thank them for making Koreans proud on foreign soil.
On Friday, the opening day of the 'premier forum for international economic cooperation',... President Moon will speak at the first G20 session on the theme of 'Global Economy, Trade and Investment.'

"President Moon will introduce the government's expansionary fiscal policy, including its recent proposal for a supplementary budget. He'll also highlight the need for G20 members to coordinate on pending issues that affect the global economy."

Also high on the South Korean leader's agenda: the peace process on the Korean Peninsula.

"President Moon will define his policy direction on the Korean Peninsula. He'll highlight his push for North Korea's complete denuclearization and forging lasting peace."

President Moon will also be busy on the sidelines of the summit.
He's scheduled to hold face-to-face talks with his counterparts from Russia, Canada and Indonesia as well as shorter discussions with the leaders of Argentina, the Netherlands and India before returning home on Saturday.

"The president is looking at a highly charged few days of diplomacy in Japan,… which will continue on through the weekend,… when he hosts the U.S. President in Seoul, where they'll discuss ways to revive the nuclear talks with North Korea.
Shin Se-min, Arirang News.