Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara will visit Seoul later this week to hold talks with his South Korean counterpart on bilateral relations, North Korea and other regional and global issues, the foreign ministry here said Tuesday.
Maehara will arrive Friday on a two-day schedule that includes separate meetings with South Korea's foreign, unification, and defense ministers, as well a courtesy call to President Lee Myung-bak, the ministry said.
Maehara and South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan will hold a joint press conference following their talks on Friday.
The Japanese minister is travelling to South Korea for the first time since taking office last September, although the two sides have previously held talks on the sidelines of an international summit in Hanoi and a trilateral meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington.