The top diplomats of South Korea and Japan held a brief meeting on Sunday and discussed issues of mutual concern including Tokyo's trade restrictions against Seoul.

According to the Foreign Ministry on Monday, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha met with her Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi for about ten minutes on the margins of the Asia-Europe Meeting in Madrid.

Kang reportedly welcomed bilateral export control talks on Monday in Tokyo, saying the talks should lead to a swift end to Japan's export curbs. 

Kang and Motegi also agreed that diplomatic authorities from the two nations will closely communicate regarding the North Korea nuclear issue. 

Further, the two envoys agreed to continue arranging a summit between President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of a trilateral summit with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on December 24 in China.

Seoul and Tokyo sought a formal one-on-one meeting between their foreign ministers in Madrid but were unable to coordinate a suitable schedule.