•South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul (R) shakes hands with Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya (L) during their meeting in Seoul today
Japan’s foreign minister will hold talks in South Korea with top officials today as the Asian neighbours seek to strengthen ties before the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump.
Takeshi Iwaya will meet counterpart Cho Tae-yul for talks in the capital Seoul before a joint press conference, the South Korean foreign ministry said.
It is the first such meeting by Tokyo’s top diplomat in Asia’s fourth-biggest economy for more than six years, reports AFP.
Iwaya is scheduled to meet acting president Choi Sang-mok tomorrow, the Japanese government said.
The talks are expected to centre on trilateral cooperation with mutual ally the United States before Trump takes office on January 20.
The three nations have bolstered security cooperation in recent years, including sharing information on North Korean missile launches.
The latest such test was last week when Pyongyang said it had fired a new hypersonic missile, the same day US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting Seoul.
The Seoul-Tokyo meeting comes as South Korean officials try to reassure allies of the country’s stability.
A political crisis has roiled the vibrant East Asian democracy for weeks following suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed martial law bid and impeachment.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said last month Tokyo was monitoring the situation in South Korea with “exceptional and serious concerns”.
US-Japanese relations have also been strained by President Joe Biden’s decision to block Nippon Steel’s takeover of US Steel.
Citing national security concerns, Biden blocked the $14.9 billion sale this month and Ishiba reportedly told the US president that “strong” concerns have been raised over the decision.
Iwaya will tomorrow head to the Philippines as Tokyo seeks to strengthen its strategic partnership with the Southeast Asian nation, to counter China’s growing military might and influence in the region.
Japan has been building the newest and largest ships of the Philippine Coast Guard, a key element of Manila’s efforts to assert its sovereignty in the South China Sea which Beijing claims almost in its entirety.
