1. Deputy Minister for Political Affairs Chung Byung-won, who is visiting Japan to participate in the Trilateral Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) among Korea, Japan, and China, met with Funakoshi Takehiro, Senior Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, on Monday, October 28.

2. The two sides welcomed the recent active exchanges and cooperation between Korea and Japan, and agreed to continue efforts at the level of diplomatic authorities to promote continuous exchanges between the two countries. In addition, they committed to make steady preparations so that the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between Korea and Japan next year will serve as an opportunity to take the bilateral relations to the next level.

3. The two sides also exchanged views on issues of mutual interest as well as regional and global issues. In particular, the two sides expressed concern over the recent strengthening of military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, and agreed to cooperate closely for peace and security in the region, while closely watching future developments including North Korea's blatant nuclear and missile threats.