China News Service, April 1st. According to Korean media citing sources from South Korean and Japanese diplomats, on the 1st local time, South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director of the Asia and Pacific Bureau Lee Sangyeol and Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director of the Asia and Oceania Bureau Fuagoi Kenyu held a private meeting in Tokyo.
According to the report, this is the first time that the diplomatic departments of the two countries have conducted face-to-face consultations at the directorate level for the first time in five months.
The South Korean government has repeatedly suggested that the conflict should be resolved through dialogue, but the Japanese side insists that the South Korean side first come up with a solution to the problem of compensation for labor and comfort women during World War II.
The last diplomatic consultation at the bureau level between South Korea and Japan took place online on January 15 this year, and the face-to-face consultation was the first since October 29, 2020.
According to reports, the two parties may discuss issues such as labor claims in World War II, comfort women claims, Japanese export control, and Fukushima nuclear water discharge.
On the other hand, whether the talks between the foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan has become a topic of consultation has also attracted attention.
The foreign ministers of South Korea, the United States and Japan will hold talks in the United States at the end of this month.
Some Japanese media have suggested that it is not transparent whether the ROK and Japan foreign ministers' meeting will be held by then.