Japan's Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki (right) and South Korea's Finance Minister Cho Kyung-ho (left) held a bilateral finance ministers' meeting after seven years.

(Reuters)

[Financial Channel/Comprehensive Report] Japan and South Korea held their first bilateral financial leaders' meeting in seven years on Tuesday (2nd), indicating that relations between the two countries are thawing under the common challenges of geopolitical tensions and slowing economic growth.

Reuters reported that the resumption of the bilateral fiscal talks took the lead ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's visit to South Korea next week to meet South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

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Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki met with South Korean Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho, saying that Japan and South Korea are important neighbors who must cooperate to address various global, economic, regional and international challenges.

Suzuki then mentioned that in terms of geopolitical challenges, Japan is experiencing North Korea's nuclear weapons, missile development and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Japan believes that this is unacceptable and the two countries must jointly address these issues.

Choo Kyung-ho said that the two countries can strengthen their partnerships in private enterprises and governments in high-tech industries such as semiconductors and batteries.

There is a need for greater cooperation between fiscal and financial authorities in the face of geopolitical and supply chain instability.

Choo Kyung-ho also called on Japan to put South Korea back on the "white list" of trade preferences as soon as possible.

Regular talks between the Japanese and South Korean finance ministers have been suspended since 2016 because of disputes over their wartime history.

But relations among U.S. allies have improved in recent months in the face of frequent missile launches from North Korea and a more assertive China.

Suzuki expressed the hope that Japan and South Korea can continue their bilateral financial dialogue, which will help improve relations between the two countries.

At the summit held in Tokyo last (April), Kishida and Yin Xiyue also agreed to temporarily put aside historical entanglements and promised to work together to deal with regional security challenges.

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