Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan met Tuesday with Japan's Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa to discuss the results of Monday's South Korea-Japan defense ministerial talks.

A ministry official said that Kim informed Kitazawa of the situation on the Korean Peninsula, including North Korea’s call for inter-Korean talks, and stressed the necessity of close cooperation between South Korea and Japan.

In addition, the official said that Kim pointed out that in pursuing defense collaboration between the two sides, South Korean public sentiment should be considered as a factor.

Japan’s defense minister met with his South Korean counterpart Kim Kwan-jin on Monday to discuss ways to bolster bilateral defense cooperation.