Two finance ministers to resume talks after island spat with Japan

The finance ministers of Korea and Japan will resume talks that were stalled in late August due to a territorial dispute over the easternmost islets of Dokdo in late August, which are claimed by both countries.

The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said yesterday that Finance Minister Bahk Jae-wan and his Japanese counterpart Koriki Jojima will hold their fifth finance dialogue on Nov. 24 in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi.

They will exchange views on recent economic developments in the two countries as well as their outlooks for the regional and global economies. Their last bilateral dialogue was held in July 2010 in Tokyo.

The fifth meeting was abruptly postponed this summer due to President Lee Myung-bak’s unexpected visit to the Dokdo islets, known in Japan as Takeshima.

The heightened tension between the two sides led to the discontinuance of a foreign currency swap that matured in October.

The two countries agreed to hold the meeting when Bahk visited Tokyo during the annual IMF meeting last month.