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The first foreign ministers meeting between Korea and Japan was held in Tokyo, Japan since the inauguration of the Yun Seok-yeol administration.

At the meeting yesterday (18th), South Korea and Japan shared the view for an early resolution of the issue of victims of forced labor.



Correspondent Park Sang-jin from Tokyo.



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The meeting between Foreign Minister Park Jin and Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi lasted about two and a half hours from 4:00 pm yesterday, including a practical dinner.



Minister Park, who arrived at Haneda Airport around 3:20 pm earlier, said that he hoped that his visit to Japan would open the door to improving relations between Korea and Japan.



[Park Jin/Minister of Foreign Affairs: I plan to restore communication and trust between Korea and Japan and seek a reasonable solution that meets the common interests of the two countries.]



The Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha visited Japan in December 2017 to discuss pending issues .

It has been 4 years and 7 months since then.



The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Minister Park explained to the Japanese side the plan to discuss the issue of the public-private consultative body launched on the 4th in relation to the issue of forced mobilization, and said that he would try to come up with a desirable solution before the assets of Japanese companies in Korea can be turned into cash.



The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that as a result of the talks, the two sides shared the view that an early resolution of this issue was necessary.



In addition to yesterday's meeting, the normalization of GSOMIA operation, the easing of export restrictions, and the issue of visa exemption for citizens of both countries were also discussed.



Minister Park will hold a meeting with Prime Minister Kishida today and deliver President Yun Seok-yeol's message that he has a strong will to improve relations between Korea and Japan.



He is also scheduled to pay tribute to former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was shot and died during an election campaign on the 8th.