Japan's Vice Foreign Minister Takeo Akiba (left) listens to China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi (not pictured) during their meeting at the Zhongnanhai Leadership Compound in Beijing on Aug 29, 2018. Akiba and Cho Se-young, South Korea's first vice foreign minister, are likely to meet in Guam around Aug 16-17, Kyodo said, citing unidentified sources. (HOW HWEE YOUNG / POOL / AFP)
TOKYO - Japanese and South Korean vice foreign ministers will meet this week to discuss the issue of forced World War II labourers, Kyodo News reported on Wednesday, amid an escalating diplomatic and economic feud between the two Asian countries.
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Takeo Akiba, Japan's vice minister for foreign affairs, and Cho Se-young, South Korea's first vice foreign minister, are likely to meet in Guam around Aug 16-17, Kyodo said, citing unidentified sources.
A South Korean court ruling last year ordered Japanese firms to compensate some of their wartime forced labourers, while Japan says the claims have been settled by past agreements.
Since then, relations have deteriorated sharply with Japan imposing restrictions on exports to South Korea and removing Seoul from a favoured trading nations list. Seoul has retaliated by deciding to drop Japan from a similar fast-track trade list.
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