The foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea have agreed to continue close communication for an early settlement of the wartime labor issue, which has strained ties between their countries.

Japan's Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa met his South Korean counterpart Park Jin for about 30 minutes on Saturday, on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference.

They discussed a plan proposed by Seoul regarding the issue of wartime labor.

The plan involves having a public foundation offer payments to the plaintiffs in wartime labor lawsuits. The public foundation would be used instead of the Japanese companies that have been ordered by South Korea's Supreme Court to compensate the plaintiffs.

The Japanese government maintains that any right to claims was settled completely and finally in 1965, when Japan and South Korea normalized ties.

The ministers affirmed that the two foreign ministries will maintain close communication so that the issue will be resolved at an early date, returning bilateral ties to a healthy state.

They also discussed North Korea's firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile on Saturday. They both condemned the launch.

The ministers confirmed that their countries, along with the United States, will cooperate closely to strengthen regional deterrence and take steps in the UN Security Council to push for the denuclearization of North Korea, in line with UNSC resolutions.