SEOUL (Reuters) – The foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan will hold talks in the South Korean capital on Monday, as key U.S. allies seek to highlight improved ties and shared security concerns between in Seoul’s worst political crisis in decades.

The meeting between South Korea’s Cho Tae-yul and Japan’s Takeshi Iwaya marked the first of its kind between the countries since President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived imposition of martial law last month, a move that drew shockwaves. of the South Koreans.

Yoon has been holed up in his hillside villa in Seoul since parliament voted to impeach and suspend him last month over his martial law decree on Dec. 3 with investigators vowing to arrest him after the failed attempt. earlier this month.

Iwaya is also due to meet with Acting South Korean President Choi Sang-mok, the Japanese government said.

At the beginning of the administration of US President-elect Donald Trump on January 20, none of the original leaders established a three-way security cooperation agreement between the countries in 2023 – US President Joe Biden, Yoon, and former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida – will remain in power.

Under Yoon and Kishida, relations between Seoul and Tokyo improved rapidly after sinking to their lowest level in decades amid intense diplomatic and trade disputes during Japan’s 1910-45 occupation of Korean Peninsula.

Yoon has made it a diplomatic priority to repair ties with Tokyo and improve security cooperation, including with Washington, to counter North Korea’s military threats.

Last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a visit to South Korea expressed confidence in the democratic process in Seoul, although he said that Washington expressed “serious concerns” over some of the actions taken by Yoon. in the course of his declaration of martial law.

Despite surveys showing that most South Koreans disapprove of Yoon’s martial law declaration and support his impeachment, his ruling People Power Party (PPP) has enjoyed a jump in support.

Support for the PPP stood at 40.8% in the latest Realmeter poll released on Monday, while support for the main opposition Democratic Party stood at 42.2%, within the margin of error and down from a gap of 10.8%. from last week, the poll said.