South Korean and Japanese senior officials held a meeting on Tuesday in China to discuss disputes over compensation for colonial-era forced laborers and the intensifying trade row between the two nations.

The Foreign Ministry in Seoul said that Kim Jeong-han, director general of the ministry's Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau, met with his Japanese counterpart Kenji Kanasugi in Beijing for about 40 minutes.

Kim is accompanying Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha for a meeting with top diplomats of China and Japan in the Chinese capital.

During his meeting with Kanasugi, Kim repeated calls for the immediate withdrawal of Japanese trade restrictions on South Korea.

The two sides reportedly failed to narrow the gap between their respective positions. However, the ministry said there was agreement on the importance of diplomatic discourse towards resolving the issue, and that such dialogue would continue.

Additionally, both Kim and Kanasugi asked that greater attention be paid to the safety of Korean and Japanese nationals in their respective countries at a time of increasing tensions.