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Senior diplomats of Korea, Japan to hold 'strategic dialogue' this week

Published: 06 Nov. 2025, 17:01

First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo, left, poses with Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Takehiro Funakoshi during their bilateral talks in Tokyo on July 18. [YONHAP]

Korea and Japan will hold vice-ministerial diplomatic talks later this week to discuss bilateral relations, and regional and global issues, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

The 16th strategic dialogue will take place in Seoul on Friday, led by First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo and his Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong said in a press briefing.

"There will be in-depth discussions on a broad range of issues, including the Korea-Japan bilateral relations, regional situations and international issues," Lee said.

It marks the first strategic dialogue to be held since the leadership changes in both countries. The same talks previously took place in June last year under the preceding governments.

Friday's talks come as Seoul and Tokyo seek to maintain the positive momentum in the bilateral ties that have dramatically improved over the past two years.

At their first one-on-one talks on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Gyeongju last week, President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi shared the need to enhance cooperation in a future-oriented manner.

The summit is seen as having dispelled worries about the new Japanese leader's approach to the neighboring country, given her widely known hawkish stance on historical issues stemming from Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

Park and Funakoshi last met in Tokyo in July for the trilateral talks with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.

Yonhap