Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Duk-geun, right, shakes hands with Japanese Trade Minister Yoji Muto during their bilateral meeting in Seoul, March 30. Yonhap

The trade ministers of South Korea and Japan agreed Sunday to cooperate to jointly respond to global trade issues involving both countries amid the expansion of trade protectionism, Seoul's industry ministry said.

Ahn Duk-geun, Korea's minister of trade, industry and energy, and his Japanese counterpart, Yoji Muto, also agreed to strengthen their countries' cooperation on other issues that require their joint efforts during a bilateral meeting held on the sidelines of a three-way ministerial meeting held in Seoul, also involving China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao.

The Ahn-Muto meeting marked the first of its kind since June 2024.

In the meeting, Ahn and Muto exchanged views on global trade issues, including the rise of protectionism, and agreed to strengthen information sharing, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said.

Both Korea and Japan have been under pressure to reduce their trade surpluses with the United States as U.S. President Donald Trump has warned of reciprocal tariffs on countries the U.S. has large trade deficits with.

The Trump administration plans to announce country-by-country reciprocal tariffs Wednesday (U.S. time).

Meanwhile, the two ministers also discussed bolstering bilateral cooperation in advanced industries, renewable energies and supply chains of critical minerals, according to the ministry.

The ministry said the two countries, marking the 60th anniversary of the normalization of their diplomatic ties, will also work to strengthen communication between the governments and the business communities. (Yonhap)