TOKYO — In a significant move towards strengthening their economic partnership, South Korea and Japan convened a vice-ministerial meeting in Tokyo on Friday to deliberate on enhancing cooperation across various economic and financial domains, as announced by Seoul's finance ministry. The dialogue saw the participation of South Korea's Deputy Finance Minister Choi Ji-young and his Japanese counterpart, Vice Finance Minister Masato Kanda. This meeting marks the second finance dialogue of its kind, emphasizing the mutual interest in addressing global economic challenges and fostering closer bilateral cooperation.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the officials engaged in discussions on current global economic and financial market trends, seeking avenues for intensified collaboration. They also laid the groundwork for a future meeting between their finance ministers, aiming to build on the momentum of their last encounter in Tokyo in June of the previous year, which focused on bolstering financial and economic relations. The dialogue reaffirmed both countries' commitment to ongoing high-level and working-level engagements, with plans to convene the next meeting in Seoul. This ongoing dialogue series, initiated in June last year, reflects a thaw in diplomatic relations and a concerted effort to elevate bilateral economic ties, highlighted by the revival of a US$10 billion currency swap arrangement that had lapsed in 2015.