First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun (pictured right) and his Japanese counterpart Masataka Okano (pictured left) agreed on Thursday that the two countries should continue to strengthen their diplomatic relations and hold in-person meetings despite the crisis in the peninsular country caused by now-impeached President Yoon Suk-yeol's short-lived decision to impose martial law.
According to the South Korean Foreign Ministry's statement on the two officials' encounter, Kim assured Okano that Seoul is "managing state affairs stably under the acting president system and that all future processes will be carried out based on the Constitution and laws within the framework of democratic procedures," insisting on its ability to maintain relations with its allies stable.
Furthermore, the diplomats agreed that Japan and South Korea should continue to cooperate with the United States against the threat embodied in North Korea, especially amid the latter's military partnership with Russia.