The Korea Herald

피터빈트

Korea, Japan to hold finance ministers' meeting in Seoul in Aug.

By Lim Jeong-yeo

Published : July 27, 2016 - 16:24

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The top economic policymakers of South Korea and Japan will have a meeting next month to discuss various economic and financial issues over the two neighboring countries, the finance ministry here said Wednesday.

"The economic authorities of South Korea and Japan have decided to hold the seventh finance ministers' meeting on Aug. 27 in Seoul," the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said in a statement.

"The detailed schedule and agenda will be determined later."

The ministerial-level talks were held in May last year for the first time in nearly three years as the bilateral relationship had been strained due largely to historical issues.

But the ties between the two countries have been thawing since last year when Seoul and Tokyo reached a landmark deal on Japan's wartime atrocities and sex slave issue during the 1910-1945 colonial era.

Insiders said South Korea's Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho and his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso are expected to exchange views on the current trend of the global financial market in the aftermath of Brexit, or the British vote to leave the European Union.

They will also discuss ways to enhance bilateral cooperation between the neighboring countries.

Japan is South Korea's fifth-largest trade partner, with trade volume reaching $71.4 billion in 2015. (Yonhap)