South Korea and Japan held director-level talks in Tokyo on Thursday to discuss ways to resolve the wartime forced labor compensation issue.

Seoul's foreign ministry said that the talks were led by the ministry's newly appointed Asia-Pacific affairs bureau chief Seo Min-jeong and her Japanese counterpart, Funakoshi Takehiro. The last such meeting was held on October 11.

The two sides exchanged opinions on pending issues and other matters of mutual interest as they accelerate close consultations between the diplomatic authorities of the two nations as agreed by their leaders in New York in September.

The two sides particularly agreed on the need for a swift resolution of the forced labor issue and the improvement of bilateral ties, committing to continuing close communication to that end. 

After the talks, a foreign ministry official told reporters that the two sides narrowed down possible solutions to the forced labor issue to one or two options and held in-depth discussions on them, but many aspects must still be addressed, such as legal issues.

The official dismissed speculation that the issue could be resolved within this year, saying that it is likely to take more time as the two sides maintain close consultation.