Seoul [South Korea], January 31 (ANI): South Korea and Japan have agreed to resume their bilateral naval search and rescue exercise for the first time in nine years as part of efforts to promote military exchange, Seoul's defence ministry said as reported by the country's state media.

South Korean Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back and his Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, held talks in the Japanese port city of Yokosuka on Friday.

'Both ministers concurred on activating personnel and unit exchange to boost mutual understanding and trust between the South Korean military and the Japanese Self-Defence Force,' a joint press release cited by Yonhap said.

The two ministers agreed to explore ways of cooperation in areas ranging from artificial intelligence to space to advance their defence relations in a 'mutually beneficial and future-oriented' direction.

South Korea and Japan last held the maritime exercises in 2017. The drills were stalled amid a series of incidents dampening their ties, such as a row over Japan's plan to hoist the Rising Sun Flag, a controversial flag regarded as symbolic of its past imperialism, on its vessel during a 2018 fleet review in South Korea.

Ahn and Koizumi last held bilateral talks in November last year on the margins of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus in Kuala Lumpur.

The meeting between the two US allies comes amid growing security threats from China and North Korea.

Ties between Tokyao and Bejing had deteriorated since late last year following Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks in which she suggested that a Chinese attack on Taiwan could be considered a 'survival-threatening situation,' which would permit Japan to take military action.

Beijing considers Taiwan as its own territory and maintains its right to take control of the island one day, including by force.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi met with South Korean President Lee Jae-Myung in Nara, Japan. The discussions centred around range of issues from industrial supply chains and artificial intelligence to denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and cooperation with the United States, CNN had reported.

Also, US Undersecretary of Defence for Policy, Elbridge A Colby, had visited South Korea and Japan this week. (ANI)