(VOVworld) – Japan and the Republic of Korea will hold their first security meeting for five years in Seoul next Tuesday, government sources said.

Junichi Ihara, the Director-General of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, is likely to attend the security talks between Japan and the Republic of Korea in Seoul next week. (Photo: Asahi Shimbun)

The talks will focus on the nuclear and missile programs of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, as well as defense co-operation between Japan and the US. The Director-General of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, Junichi Ihara, is expected to attend the talks, while Lee Sang-deok, the Director-General of the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s Northeast Asian Affairs Bureau, is likely to lead the RoK delegation.
The Japan-RoK security dialogue was called off in 2009 amid strained diplomatic relations due to territorial disputes and the issue of “comfort RoK women” during World War II.