Seoul, Jan. 31 -- 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 ...