S. Korean, Japanese Leaders Briefly Discuss Bilateral Ties At ASEAN Summit - Moon's Office

S. Korean, Japanese Leaders Briefly Discuss Bilateral Ties at ASEAN Summit - Moon's Office

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a brief meeting on Monday on the sidelines of the ASEAN Plus Three summit in Bangkok and discussed bilateral relations, the South Korean presidential office said

SEOUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th November, 2019) South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a brief meeting on Monday on the sidelines of the ASEAN Plus Three summit in Bangkok and discussed bilateral relations, the South Korean presidential office said.

"Prime Minister Abe and President Moon Jae-in reaffirmed the importance of the Japanese-South Korean relations and confirmed the commitment to solving the existing problems by means of dialogue," South Korean presidential spokeswoman Ko Min-jung told reporters.

Moon also proposed Abe to consider holding "higher-level consultations" if it is necessary, while Abe agreed to use every available means for solving bilateral problems.

The meeting lasted for 11 minutes.

The was the first meeting between the two leaders since September 2018, when they met on the sidelines of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Relations between Tokyo and Seoul have hit at a low point in summer. In July, Japan introduced restrictions on exports of three high-tech materials � fluorinated polyimides, photoresist and hydrogen fluoride � which are vital to the manufacturing of semiconductors and displays developed by South Korean tech companies. In August, Tokyo removed Seoul from its list of trading partners with preferential rights.

The move came shortly after a South Korean court ruled that Japanese companies pay reparations to former Korean workers who were forced into labor during World War II by Japan, a colonial power at the time.

Tokyo's official position regarding the reparations is that the bilateral 1965 Treaty on Basic Relations had fully resolved the matter. From Tokyo's point of view, the South Korean court rulings go against previous agreements between the two countries.