Japan-Korea take new steps in finance, economic relations officially "thaw"

On June 29, the Ministry of Economy and Finance of South Korea said that the country and Japan have agreed to resume a currency swap agreement worth 10 billion USD. This is the latest sign of a "thaw" in economic relations between the two countries.

Nhật Bản-Hàn Quốc có bước đi mới về tài chính, quan hệ kinh tế chính thức 'tan băng'

Japan and South Korea agree to resume currency swap deal. (Source: Korea Bizwire)

The agreement was reached during a meeting between Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki and his South Korean counterpart Choo Kyung-ho in Tokyo, the first such dialogue between the two countries since 2016.

In 2015, Japan and South Korea ended their currency swap amid strained bilateral relations. The new currency swap agreement is valid for three years.

On the same day, the Office of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol welcomed the resumption of the currency swap agreement between the two countries. The office said that this move reflects the two countries' improving financial relations.

"The resumption of the Korea-Japan currency swap agreement is a meaningful progress that reflects the bilateral relationship, which has rapidly recovered in the security and industrial fields following the Korea-Japan summit in March," Lee Do-woon, a spokesman for the South Korean president, said at a press conference.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol visited Tokyo in March and held a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

President Yoon Suk-yeol became the first South Korean president to make such a trip to Japan in 12 years. In response, the Japanese prime minister visited South Korea in May.

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