TOKYO — The finance ministers of Japan and South Korea declared on Thursday that their nations would closely cooperate on economic and financial issues, in talks aimed at limiting the political damage from a diplomatic clash over contested islands.
The talks took place during annual meetings in Tokyo of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. That the Japanese and South Korean officials met at all was seen by many here as hopeful.
Relations between Japan and South Korea have deteriorated since August, when the South Korean president visited the disputed islands, known as Dokdo in Korean and Takeshima in Japanese.
