TOKYO, Dec. 3 -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday said he is arranging to hold formal talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in later this month.
The talks, if they come to fruition, will mark the first such talks in more than a year between the two leaders, owing to strained bilateral ties between the two countries.
The summit is expected to take place towards the end of December, with senior trade officials from Tokyo and Seoul also set to discuss Japan's tightened export controls during the third week of December in Tokyo.
The possible high-level talks come as both sides remain at odds over a wartime labor dispute and trade row, but could be looking towards overcoming the impasse or preventing a worsening in ties.
Tokyo and Seoul have been at odds since October last year when South Korea's top court ordered a Japanese firm to pay compensation for the forced labor of South Koreans during Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
Japan maintains the matter was settled by a 1965 pact, which saw Tokyo pay Seoul some 500 million U.S. dollars under the banner of "economic cooperation."
The dispute, however, continued and spread to trade and security issues, with both sides tightening export restrictions and removing each other from their preferential lists of trade partners.
The spat also spilled over into security areas, with Seoul cancelling the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), before deciding to extend the pact with Japan just hours before the deal was due to expire.
体坛英语资讯:Madden eyes hat-trick but Fuchs looks strong at FEI Jumping World Cup Final
体坛英语资讯:Wang Shuang can be the key, says German coach
国际英语资讯:UN chief regrets some countries apathy toward refugees
娱乐英语资讯:U.S. prosecutors drop charges against actor Jussie Smollett, stirring controversy
国内英语资讯:Chinas Terracotta Warriors propel Liverpool museum to Englands most visited outside Lond
体坛英语资讯:Uruguay win 2019 China Cup
体坛英语资讯:12th Lake Balation Supermarathon kicks off in Hungary
The Awkward Mistakes 尴尬的错误
国际英语资讯:Too early to say 250 MP seats won by opposition parties: Thailands pro-Prayut party
国际英语资讯:Security Council extends mandate of UN mission in Somalia
体坛英语资讯:Chinese owned Granada CF promoted to Spanish Primera Liga
国际英语资讯:U.S. attorney general tells Congress to expect redacted version of Mueller report by mid-Apr
国际英语资讯:Syrias air defenses respond to Israeli airstrike in Aleppo countryside
体坛英语资讯:Analysis: Loews hopes pinned on Manchester City star Sane
国际英语资讯:Storm kills at least 25, injures 400 others in Nepal
国际英语资讯:Ireland, globally recognized centre for specialist intl financial services: minister
国际英语资讯:News Analysis: Brexit deadlock remains despite delayed departure
国内英语资讯:Across China: Childrens hospice care holds out hope for cure in eastern China
体坛英语资讯:Neymar to miss Copa America
国内英语资讯:Employment rate of Chinese vocational graduates exceeds 90 percent: report
国际英语资讯:Vietnam, Brunei upgrade relations to comprehensive partnership
国际英语资讯:Feature: Chile company seeks to meet Chinas demand for berries
国内英语资讯:Chinas Hong Kong rejects British report for interfering in HKSARs internal affairs
国内英语资讯:Chinese envoy asks for intl support for political process in Syria
体坛英语资讯:Chinas Wang Xinyu bows out in first round of Miami Open
国际英语资讯:Thailand gears up for 34th ASEAN Summit
国际英语资讯:Putin says efforts to modernize Russian economy evident this year
体坛英语资讯:Chinas Wang Qiang into third round at Miami Open
国内英语资讯:Chinese Americans in San Francisco vow to enhance mutual understanding between China, U.S.
国内英语资讯:Chinese, U.S. chief trade negotiators to communicate following presidents instructions