Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul (right) and Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya on Jan. 13 speak at a joint news conference after their bilateral summit at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul's Jongno-gu District. (Yonhap News)

By Margareth Theresia

Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yul and visiting Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya on Jan. 13 pledged to keep developing bilateral relations "unwaveringly under any circumstance."

Minister Cho said this at a joint news conference after his summit with Minister Iwaya at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul's Jongno-gu District. "We agreed to further consolidate and expand cooperation for the future-oriented development of Korea-Japan relations," Minister Cho added.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the normalization of their ties, so the two sides must commemorate this by moving forward together toward a better future, he added.

"Both countries are (geographically) close neighbors who share the universal values of freedom, human rights and rule of law," Minister Cho said. "We will work together to keep maintaining and strengthening the hard-won momentum in improvement of Korea-Japan relations."

Both officials agreed to explore new projects for cooperation in sectors such as economy and economic security, cutting-edge science and technology, and human exchange.

"Both countries will closely cooperate in international consultative groups such as the U.N. (United Nations) Security Council, G20 (Group of 20) and APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation)," Minister Cho said. "We agreed to team up to ensure the successful hosting this year of the APEC Summit in Gyeongju (Gyeongsangbuk-do Province) and the World Expo in Osaka (Japan)."

"The importance of bilateral relations between Korea and Japan remains unchanged," Minister Iwaya said. "We have maintained cooperation in various fields such as security, economy and culture."

"Various events are being readied to mark the 60th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral relations," he added. "Starting with them, light-up events will be held next month at Tokyo Tower and N (Namsan) Seoul Tower."

"Let's actively push for three-way cooperation (with the U.S.) on global issues like North Korea, the Indo-Pacific region and economic security."

margareth@korea.kr