The defense ministers of South Korea and Japan are expected to hold talks next week despite strained bilateral ties, Seoul’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

Seoul’s Defense Minister Han Min-koo will meet with his counterpart Gen Nakatani who is seeking to visit chiefly for the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition, which is slated to kick off next Tuesday for a six-day run.

They are forecast to discuss North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile threats and other regional and bilateral issues including Tokyo’s projected exercise of its right to collective self-defense that would expand Japan’s security role beyond the hitherto defense-oriented policy.

“As Japan wishes for a ministerial meeting on the margins of ADEX, the sides are currently coordinating on the detailed schedule,” the ministry said in a statement. 

Nakatani’s trip followed the visit by Parliamentary Vice Defense Minister Kenji Harada two weeks ago primarily to the Military World Games in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang Province. The minister initially sought to attend the sporting event himself, but could not come due to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s planned reshuffling of his cabinet.

Their meeting comes at a delicate time as concerns persist over Japan’s recent overturn of the pacifist constitution amid Abe’s ongoing revisionist push.

The two top defense chiefs met for the first time in about four years in May on the sidelines of an international security conference in Singapore.

By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)