Regions

The finance ministers of Japan and South Korea will hold their first bilateral meeting in nearly two years on Friday, on the sidelines of this week's autumn IMF gathering in Washington, the Japanese Ministry of Finance said.

The meeting between Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso and his South Korean counterpart Choi Kyung-hwan, who are both deputy prime ministers, comes as their countries seek to mend relations hurt by territorial rows.

The ministers will exchange views on their economies as well as on topics ranging from global economic developments to regional financial cooperation, but are unlikely to discuss whether to extend a bilateral currency swap that expires in February, the Japanese finance ministry said on Tuesday.

Both finance ministers will be in Washington to attend gatherings of the Group of 20 finance leaders and the International Monetary Fund this weekend.