By Tetsushi Kajimoto
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan and South Korea will hold their first bilateral finance dialogue in seven years on Thursday, with both looking to mend strained ties as they face common geo-strategic risks from an increasingly assertive China and an unpredictable North Korea.
Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki and his South Korean counterpart Choo Kyungho are expected to agree on the need to restore a lapsed bilateral currency swap arrangement, according to government officials with knowledge of the agenda for the talks in Tokyo.
The swap deal expired in 2015 amid worsening relations over issues related to Japan’s wartime occupation of the Korean Peninsula, and its restoration would symbolise the improvement in relations, analysts say.
The ministers will also discuss global economic developments, infrastructure investment in developing countries, and the role both countries could play in multilateral financial cooperation.
“Japan and South Korea are important neighbours that must cooperate to address various challenges surrounding the global economy, as well as the regional and international community,” Suzuki said at a brief meeting with Choo early last month.
“We’re experiencing incidents like North Korea’s nuclear missile development and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Japan sees these as unacceptable, and something the two countries must address together.”
(Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Leika Kihara & Simon Cameron-Moore)
