The finance ministers of South Korea and Japan are to hold a meeting this week to discuss the latest global economic conditions and ways to expand bilateral financial cooperation, Korea’s Finance Ministry said Tuesday.

The meeting will be held between Korean Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan and his Japanese counterpart, Taro Aso, on Friday in Washington on the sidelines of the annual gathering of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, according to the ministry.

The meeting marks the first time for the ministers to sit down for such talks since November 2012, ministry officials said.

Choi and Aso are expected to discuss domestic and global economic conditions and their impact on the two countries.

The ministers will also touch on how to ramp up financial cooperation between the two Asian nations.

Ties between Korea and Japan have been stressed recently by lingering controversial issues between the two sides including Japan’s wartime sexual slavery.

(shinjh@heraldcorp.com)