Japan and South Korea will hold their first consultation on defense and security on Friday in Seoul, Foreign Ministry officials said Wednesday.

The "dialogue" is the first of its kind as defense has been a sensitive topic with South Korea, due to Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. Foreign Minister Keizo Obuchi and his South Korean counterpart, Park Chung Soo, set up the dialogue last month.

Foreign affairs and defense officials from both sides will exchange views on the defense and foreign policies of their two countries, the officials said.