Seoul: South Korea and Japan will hold vice-ministerial diplomatic talks later this week to discuss bilateral relations, regional and global issues, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday. The 16th strategic dialogue will take place in Seoul on Friday, led by First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo and his Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, ministry spokesperson Lee Jae-woong said in a press briefing.

According to Yonhap News Agency, "There will be in-depth discussions on a broad range of issues, including the South Korea-Japan bilateral relations, regional situations and international issues," Lee said. This marks the first strategic dialogue since the leadership changes in both countries, with the previous talks occurring in June last year under the preceding governments.

Friday's talks come as Seoul and Tokyo aim to maintain the positive momentum in the bilateral ties that have improved over the past two years. At their first one-on-one talks on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in Gyeongju last week, President Lee Jae Myung and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi emphasized the need to enhance cooperation in a future-oriented manner.

The summit is noted for alleviating concerns about the new Japanese leader's approach to South Korea, given her known stance on historical issues related to Japan's past colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula. Park and Funakoshi last met in Tokyo in July for trilateral talks with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau.