At its peak in 2011, the swap deal was worth $70 billion. With both sides sitting on ample foreign exchange reserves, the swap deal is unlikely to be put into action anytime soon, he added. Masato Kanda, Japan's vice finance minister for international affairs also said the currency swap deal would promote co-operation. The bilateral finance talks were to have taken place every year under a 2006 agreement, but were last held in 2016. With China and North Korea growing concerns, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in May, the third between the two this year, marking a thaw in years of icy relations between the Asian neighbours.

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Persons: Yoon Suk Yeol, Kim Keon, Issei Kato, Shunichi Suzuki, Choo, Suzuki, Masato Kanda, Kanda, Fumio Kishida, Tetsushi Kajimoto, Jihoon Lee, Edwina Gibbs, Clarence Fernandez, Kim Coghill Organizations: Tokyo International, REUTERS, Japanese Finance, Korean, Japanese, South Korea, Thomson Locations: Korean, Tokyo, Japan, Seoul TOKYO, SEOUL, South Korea, Seoul, China, North Korea, South