Finance ministers of Japan and South Korea agree to resume currency swap agreement as ties warm
Japan and South Korea have agreed to revive a currency swap agreement for times of crisis TOKYO -- Japan and South Korea agreed Thursday to revive a currency swap agreement for times of crisis, in the latest sign of warming ties as the countries work to smooth over historical antagonisms. Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki announced the agreement after meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Choo Kyungho. It was the first time the two countries have held annual financial talks in seven years, though Suzuki and Choo also met in South Korea in May. Suzuki told reporters that the 3-year currency swap agreement would help reinforce trust in the financial stability of the two countries as a fallback in an emergency. But he emphasized that Japan is fully prepared to deal with fluctuations in the Japanese yen, which has weakened sharply against the U.S. dollar in the past year. The $10 billion swap arrangement expired in 2015 and had not been renewed. Largely symbolic, it allow...