South Korea’s Ambassador to Japan Shin Kak-soo has stressed that finding a balance in mutual interests is key to establishing a free trade agreement between South Korea and Japan.

Shin made the remark on Monday during a meeting with South Korean media correspondents stationed in Tokyo.

He said that the right conditions must be in place first to hold trade negotiations, noting that Japan is actively seeking to resume negotiations for a free trade pact.

On Japan’s territorial claims over South Korea’s easternmost islets of Dokdo, Shin said Seoul will sternly deal with the matter, saying that the issue is not up for compromise.