Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and his Japanese counterpart Yoko Kamikawa on Wednesday, expressed differing views on Japan's claim to Korean islets of Dokdo and other matters such as Japan's wartime forced labor.

The two met on Wednesday on the sidelines of the foreign ministerial gathering of the Group of 20(G20) countries in Brazil, their first face to face meeting since Seoul's top diplomat took office.

Cho protested against Japan's plans to hold the annual "Takeshima Day" event, which celebrates its claim to Korea’s Dokdo islets during the meeting, emphasizing that Dokdo is South Korea's inherent territory historically, geographically and by international law.

The two ministers also reaffirmed the difference in their positions over Japan's wartime forced labor, after the bereaved family of a South Korean forced labor victim earlier this week received compensation from Hitachi Zosen Corporation by withdrawing the money the Japanese firm had deposited as a kind of collateral.

According to Seoul's foreign ministry, during the 30 minute discussion, the two condemned North Korea's recent belligerent rhetoric and provocations that are raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula and in the region.

However, Japan's foreign ministry refrained from using the word 'condemn' in discussions regarding North Korea, and instead said the two ministers exchanged opinions on North Korea and its ongoing provocations and agreed to cooperate on the matter.