TOKYO, Jan. 9 (Yonhap) -- Cooperation between South Korea and Japan will be important in dealing with uncertainties arising from North Korea's leadership change, Seoul's top envoy to Tokyo said Monday, as Kim Jong-un consolidates power in the communist regime.

South Korea and Japan share common interests in maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, leading to mutual exchanges of information regarding the North and joint responses to related issues, Ambassador Shin Kak-soo said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency.