Seoul, Tokyo to Hold First Talks Between Diplomats, Defense Officials Since 2018

A woman walks past an advertisement featuring Japanese and South Korean flags at a shop in Shin Okubo area in Tokyo Friday, Aug. 2, 2019InternationalIndiaAfricaMOSCOW (Sputnik) – South Korea and Japan will hold a meeting of senior diplomats and defense officials next week for the first time in five years to discuss their bilateral security cooperation and regional issues, media reported on Friday, citing the South Korean Foreign Ministry. At the meeting, Seoul will be represented by Seo Min-jung, director-general for Asia and Pacific affairs at the foreign ministry, and Woo Kyung-seok, deputy director-general for international policy at the defense ministry, according to the local news agency. The South Korean officials will meet with Takehiro Funakoshi, director-general of Asian and Oceanian affairs at the Japanese Foreign Ministry, and Atsushi Ando, deputy director-general of the Defense Policy Bureau. RussiaUS Increasing Military Presence in Asia-Pacific Region to Deter Russia, China, Shoigu Says 22 March, 11:02 GMTThe senior officials of the two countries are expected to discuss various security issues, including the situation in northeast Asia and on the Korean Peninsula, and their bilateral defense and security partnership, the South Korean news agency reported. It will be the first meeting in this format since 2018, with 11 similar joint consultations held by Seoul and Tokyo since 1998. MilitaryJapan to Purchase of About 400 Tomahawk Cruise Missiles From US27 February, 06:21 GMTThe intensification of contacts between the two countries comes following a landmark meeting between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo during which they agreed to normalize relations to better respond to North Korea’s military activity in the region and reopen various dialogue channels suspended over their historical dispute related to Japan’s colonial rule on the Korean Peninsula from 1910-45.

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