South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon sat down with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo amid strained bilateral ties between the two sides.

During the meeting, that lasted for around 20 minutes at Abe's office on Thursday, Lee delivered a letter from South Korean President Moon Jae-in to the Japanese leader.

The meeting marked the highest-level talks between the two sides since their ties soured over a South Korean Supreme Court decision last year, which ordered defendant Japanese companies to pay reparations to Korean victims of their wartime forced labor.

The meeting was held in a closed-door setting without reporters present.

The South Korean government is soon expected to brief the results of the meeting to the public.