SEOUL: The first ladies of Japan and South Korea engaged in some kimchi diplomacy Friday as their husbands held summit talks on improving relations.

On the sidelines of the meeting between President Lee Myung-Bakand Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, Lee's wife Kim Yun-Ok invited Miyuki Hatoyama to a Korean traditional cuisine institute.

Miyuki, a lifestyle guru who has published cooking books, impressed Kim by sticking her bare hand in a pot of kimchi -- an iconic but strongly-flavoured dish of vegetables pickled with red chili and garlic.

Kim said even Korean women use plastic gloves when making a potent version of the side dish.

"I wanted to experience making kimchi with bare hands," responded Miyuki, who is known for her love of Korean culture.

Hatoyama and his wife last month had a meeting in Tokyo with South Korean heart-throb actor Lee Seo-Jin, who presented them with a Korean tea set and DVDs of his movies.

Ties between South Korea and Japan, which colonised the peninsula between 1910-45, have often been prickly due to historical and territorial disputes.

South Korea and China say Japan has glossed over its 20th century military aggression.

But Hatoyama said after the summit that his new government "has the courage to look straight at history."