The finance ministers of Japan and South Korea have expressed serious concerns about the recent depreciation of their local currencies and said they can take "appropriate steps" to curb market volatility. 

According to Seoul’s finance ministry on Wednesday, finance minister Choi Sang-mok and his Japanese counterpart Shunichi Suzuki made the verbal intervention during their meeting at the World Bank in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, local time. 

In the talks held after the meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of 20(G20) nations, Choi and Suzuki shared serious concerns about the recent steep depreciation of their currencies. 

The finance chiefs also stated that they can take “appropriate steps” to stabilize excessive volatility in foreign exchange markets, which can be seen as a verbal intervention in the market. 

The remarks come amid growing volatility in the foreign exchange market with the heightened tensions in the Middle East following Iran’s attack on Israel. 

On Tuesday, the Korean won weakened to one-thousand-400 won per dollar during intraday trading for the first time since November 2022. 

The Japanese yen also weakened to around the 154 yen per dollar level on Monday for the first time since June 1990.