Japanese Defense Minister Hamada Yasukazu and South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup have agreed to accelerate talks on pending bilateral issues.

Hamada and Lee met in Singapore on Sunday. It was the first meeting between the two countries' defense ministers since November 2019.

Hamada reiterated the Defense Ministry's stance of urging South Korea to prevent a recurrence of a radar incident. The Japanese government has been saying that a South Korean destroyer directed fire-control radar at a Japanese Self-Defense Forces patrol aircraft over the Sea of Japan in December 2018.

Lee repeated South Korea's stance that the destroyer did not aim radar at the Japanese plane. South Korea's Defense Ministry has consistently claimed that a Japanese SDF aircraft conducted a provocative low-altitude flight over a South Korean military vessel.

The two ministers confirmed the need to advance cooperation between their defense authorities and agreed to speed up working-level talks on pending issues, including measures to prevent such incidents.

The ministers also strongly criticized North Korea for using ballistic missile technology in its recent attempt to launch what it calls a military reconnaissance satellite, saying the move violates UN Security Council resolutions.

They confirmed the importance of promoting defense cooperation between the two nations as well as with the United States to cope with North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.

Hamada told reporters after the meeting that both sides sought to have a frank discussion, and that he wants to continue to communicate closely with the South Korean side.

Lee told South Korean reporters that the two countries agreed to start working-level talks with a focus on coming up with measures to prevent a recurrence of the 2018 incident.