South Korea and Japan agreed Tuesday to resume talks next month on their shared maritime border in the East Sea, South Korean officials said.
The two sides agreed to hold the negotiations on their exclusive economic zones (EEZ) from June 12-13 in Tokyo, they added.
The agreement came at a one-on-one meeting between the two countries' foreign ministers at a Doha hotel on the sidelines of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD).
The Seoul-Tokyo EEZ talks will be the fifth of their kind. The two countries failed to reach a compromise in previous rounds of discussions over the issue held between 1996 and 2000.
South Korea and Japan have been at odds over the poorly-defined boundaries of their respective EEZs because of Tokyo's claim over the South Korean islets of Dokdo in the East Sea, which are surrounded by rich fishing waters and believed to host deposits of methane hydrate.
The EEZ issue was rekindled last month when Japan announced a plan to conduct a hydrographic survey in the waters near Dokdo.
A possible clash at sea managed to be averted through a last-minute deal in which Japan dropped its survey plan, but relations between the two countries remain volatile.
Analysts say the two sides are braced for what are likely to be lengthy and tough negotiations over their EEZs.
Tuesday's meeting between South Korea's Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon and Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Aso was aimed at discussing ways of mending strained ties.
Relations between South Korea and Japan, already hard hit by Tokyo's purported efforts to whitewash its militarist past, have been at their lowest ebb in recent years due to the Dokdo issue.
It was their first get-together since they met each other in December while attending the ASEAN+3 meeting in Kuala Lumpur. Doha, May 23 (Yonhap News)
S. Korean, Japan to hold EEZ talks next month |
