Just back from his two-day trip to Iceland for the Council of Europe summit, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made a quick turnaround and headed to the G7 summit in Japan.

This is his first official foreign trip in which his wife, Britta Ernst, will accompany him.

The two boarded a government plane late Wednesday evening at the military section of Berlin-Brandenburg Airport.

Mr Scholz only had a six-hour layover in Berlin after returning from the Reykjavik summit, which focused on Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Ukraine would also focus on the G7 meeting of economically strong democracies in Hiroshima. Countries attending the summit are Japan, Germany, the United States, Britain, France, Italy and Canada. Other topics will likely include relations with China, climate protection and nuclear disarmament.

Ms Ernst, like her husband, is a Social Democratic politician.

She was the education minister in Brandenburg, near Berlin, but resigned in mid-April, citing a lack of support for her policies from within her own ranks.

On their way back to Berlin from the G7 summit, the couple would make a brief stopover in South Korea, the first purely bilateral visit by a chancellor in 30 years.

Apart from the political talks, Mr Scholz would also visit the demilitarised zone on the border with North Korea. 

(dpa/NAN)