Senior officials of South Korea and Japan will hold a meeting in Tokyo to discuss issues of mutual interest amid escalating tensions between the two countries over trade and historical disputes.

According to the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, Kim Jeong-han, director general of the ministry's Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau, will meet with his Japanese counterpart Shigeki Takizaki on Friday morning at the Japanese Foreign Ministry in Tokyo.

It will mark Kim's first meeting with Takizaki since he was named Japan's top diplomat for Asian affairs early this month. The two officials will have lunch together after their discussion. 

The meeting comes two days after South Korea formally removed Japan from a “whitelist” of trusted trading partners following a similar move by Japan against South Korea last month.

The two officials are expected to discuss holding talks between South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her newly-appointed Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi.