Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and South Korean Unification Minister Kwon Young-se agreed Thursday to work closely when tackling issues related to North Korea — including Pyongyang's missile and nuclear programs — Japanese government officials have confirmed.
During their talks in Tokyo, Hayashi and Kwon, who is the first South Korean unification minister to visit Japan since 2005, expressed a shared view that North Korea's repeated missile tests are a "serious and imminent threat" to regional security.
It is planned that Kwon, who directs South Korea's Pyongyang-related measures, will be in Japan for four days through Saturday. Ties between Tokyo and Seoul have improved since the South Korean government announced a resolution to a bilateral wartime labor dispute earlier this month.
Hayashi also asked Kwon for his understanding and cooperation on seeking a resolution to issues related to the abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s. Kwon expressed his nation's support on the matter, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
Kwon's trip to Japan came after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol held a summit in Tokyo on March 16.
Yoon became the first South Korean president to visit Japan in four years.
During Thursday's bilateral ministerial meeting, which was partially open to the media, Kwon congratulated Japan on winning its third World Baseball Classic title on Wednesday. He told Hayashi that he was "envious" of the victory, with the South Korean team having bowed out of the tournament at the group stage.