Foreign ministry officials from South Korea and Japan met in Seoul on Thursday at a critical time when the two neighbors are locking horns over diplomatic and trade issues.
On the same day, culture ministers from both countries also sat down for talks.
Yoon Jung-min has the details.
Foreign ministry officials from South Korea and Japan met in Seoul on Thursday for the first time since Tokyo removed Seoul from its whitelist of trusted trading partners.
The foreign ministry's director-general for Asian and Pacific affairs Kim Jung-han sat down with his Japanese counterpart Kenji Kanasugi for bilateral talks.
Seoul's foreign ministry said the two sides discussed a range of issues... including the forced-labor issue.
Kim expressed regret over Japan removing South Korea from its whitelist and asked Tokyo to reverse the decision,... while once again urging dialogue.
The official also delivered Seoul's concerns over Japan's plan to discharge contaminated water from Fukushima into the Pacific Ocean and asked for updates on the matter.
Kanasugi, meanwhile, expressed regret over Seoul's decision to end the military intel-sharing pact with Tokyo,... and asked Seoul to reconsider.
The Japanese diplomat also met his other counterpart on nuclear negotiations, Lee Do-hoon, after the meeting with Seoul's foreign ministry.
They discussed ways to counteract the regime's nuclear and missile threats,...and the Seoul-Washington-Tokyo trilateral cooperation to help talks between North Korea and the U.S. resume as early as possible.
On the same day, the culture ministers from Seoul and Tokyo also met for talks.
South Korean Culture Minister Park Yang-woo sat down with his Japanese counterpart Masahiko Shibayama for bilateral talks in Incheon.
The talks were held ahead of the annual three-way culture and tourism meeting between Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo, which will be held on Friday.
Though it is a difficult time for Seoul-Tokyo relations in terms of diplomacy and trade,... both ministers agreed on the need for cultural exchanges between citizens and discussed ways to promote cultural events.
Yoon Jung-min, Arirang News.
Meanwhile, following a bilateral meeting between the culture ministers of South Korea and Japan yesterday, the tourism ministers of the two countries will meet today on the sidelines of the annual South Korea, China, Japan Culture and Tourism Meeting in Incheon.