Visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and his South Korean counterpart, Kang Kyung-wha, on Saturday agreed to ensure close bilateral cooperation to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.

At a meeting in the German city of Munich, the two sides also agreed that their countries will exchange information on the COVID-19 outbreak originating in China, their neighbor.

Motegi asked Seoul to disseminate correct information on the virus based on scientific evidence.

Motegi agreed with Kang to continue dialogue on the thorny issue of wartime labor, apparently bearing in mind the adverse effects that would arise if assets of Japanese companies seized in South Korea following wartime labor lawsuits are converted into cash.

In the suits, South Korea's Supreme Court ordered the companies to pay compensation for the labor provided by Koreans during World War II. Japan's position is that the issue was fully resolved under a 1965 bilateral agreement.

The two ministers remained apart on the wartime labor issue and Japan's tightened controls on exports to South Korea, only reiterating their respective positions.

Motegi requested that the South Korean government disseminate correct information on treated radioactive water at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.'s Fukushima No. 1 power plant, the site of the 2011 meltdowns.

Ahead of the bilateral meeting, Motegi and Kang held three-way talks also including US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The three confirmed their cooperation in dealing with North Korea, which sticks to its nuclear and missile programs.

JIJI Press