TOKYO (Reuters) -&nbsp;Japan's&nbsp;foreign&nbsp;minister Yoshimasa Hayashi met his&nbsp;South&nbsp;Korean counterpart Park Jin on Saturday and reiterated the need for continued communications between the two countries to return to a "healthy relationship".
Meeting on the&nbsp;sidelines&nbsp;of the&nbsp;Munich&nbsp;Security&nbsp;Conference, the two&nbsp;foreign&nbsp;ministers&nbsp;agreed to "close communications between the two countries on each diplomatic level to resolve issues of concern", a statement released by the&nbsp;Japanese&nbsp;foreign&nbsp;ministry said.
They also had a "frank" discussion about wartime labour issues, an issue that worsened relations after a&nbsp;South&nbsp;Korean court ordered the seizure of assets of&nbsp;Japanese companies accused of not compensating some of their colonial-era labourers, the ministry said.
Tokyo says the issue of compensation was settled under a 1965 treaty normalizing diplomatic ties and providing&nbsp;South&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;with economic assistance, and has warned of serious repercussions if the orders are enforced.
Japan&nbsp;is considering easing curbs on shipping high-tech materials, which it imposed in 2019 on&nbsp;South&nbsp;Korea&nbsp;over a dispute about&nbsp;Japan's wartime forced labour by&nbsp;Korean workers, as the neighbours hold a series of talks aimed at solving the dispute, the Sankei newspaper reported in late January.
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(Reporting by Sakura Murakami; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

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Japan, South Korea foreign ministers meet on sidelines of Munich Security Conference