By Tim Kelly and Joyce Lee TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung agreed on Saturday to closer security and economic ties ahead of Lee's planned summit with U.

Washington’s increasing focus on Beijing is straining the decades-old alliance between South Korea and the United States.

Since returning to the White House, President Donald Trump has boasted of ending either six or seven wars -- a matter of much dispute -- and has been pushing with mixed success to bring peace to Ukraine.