Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha. (Photo: CGTN)

Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha was "very shocked" at the Friday shooting of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, the kingdom's foreign affairs minister said, describing the pair as friends.

"Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha is very shocked by what has happened to former Japanese premier Shinzo Abe... Prayut and Abe are friends and they have a relatively close relationship," foreign minister Don Pramudwinai told reporters in Bangkok.