South Korea and Japan are in talks about launching two dialogue channels for economic security and national security as a follow-up to last month's summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, officials said Monday.

The economic security dialogue involving the two countries' national security councils is expected to launch as early as this month, before Yoon travels to the United States for a summit with President Joe Biden on April 26.

The national security dialogue involving director-general-level officials from the two countries' foreign policy and defense authorities is also expected to launch around the same time.

"We're discussing detailed schedules with Japan for both dialogues," a senior presidential official told Yonhap News Agency.

Another official said the aim is to launch both within the month, though neither date has been fixed.

The economic security dialogue is expected to serve as a forum to discuss cooperation on supply chain issues related to semiconductors, electric vehicles and batteries, and the two countries' joint response to China's export controls and other economic pressure.

Seoul and Tokyo could also discuss their responses to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and Chips and Science Act amid concerns they could hurt domestic businesses.

"South Korea and Japan jointly raising the issue with the U.S. will carry a different weight than South Korea and Japan separately raising the issue with the U.S.," a presidential official said.

Meanwhile, the national security dialogue is expected to help Seoul and Tokyo coordinate their response to North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations, as well as the growing ties among North Korea, China and Russia.

These moves came as relations between the two countries have warmed significantly following the resolution of a long-running row over Japan's wartime forced labor after South Korea decided to compensate forced labor victims on its own without asking Japan for contributions.

Source: Yonhap News Agency