© Reuters.
Written by Tetsushi Kajimoto
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan and South Korea will hold their first bilateral financial dialogue in seven years on Thursday, with each looking to repair strained relations as they face shared geostrategic risks from an increasingly assertive China and an unpredictable North Korea.
Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki and his South Korean counterpart Cho Kyungho are expected to agree on the need to restore the bilateral currency swap arrangement, according to government officials familiar with the agenda for the talks in Tokyo.
The swap expired in 2015 amid deteriorating relations over issues related to Japan’s wartime occupation of the Korean peninsula, and its restoration would symbolize an improvement in relations, analysts say.
The ministers will also discuss global economic developments, infrastructure investment in developing countries, and the role both countries can play in multilateral financial cooperation.
“Japan and South Korea are two important neighbors that should cooperate to face various challenges surrounding the global economy, as well as the regional and international community,” Suzuki said in a short meeting with Cho early last month.
“We are witnessing incidents such as North Korea’s development of nuclear missiles and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Japan considers this unacceptable, and it is something that the two countries should address together.”