Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back holds talks with Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi on May 30 on the sidelines of the 23rd Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. (Ministry of National Defense via Yonhap) South Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi are set to hold their second face-to-face meeting in less than a month.The Defense Ministry said Friday that Ahn and Koizumi will hold talks at the ministry’s headquarters in Seoul on Sunday.“Koizumi’s visit to Korea is being carried out as part of shuttle defense diplomacy between the two countries’ defense ministers,” following Ahn’s visit to Japan in January, the ministry said in a statement. In Korea-Japan ties, shuttle diplomacy refers to regular reciprocal visits to each other’s countries.In addition to the ministerial talks, the two sides will tour the South Korean Air Force’s Black Eagles aerobatic team and participate in a security dialogue with South Korean and Japanese youth, as well as discussions on exchanges and cooperation between the two defense authorities.The Defense Ministry in Seoul said the activities are aimed at “improving mutual understanding and trust.”The meeting comes roughly one month after the two ministers met on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on May 30.Sunday's meeting will seek to build on agreements reached at previous defense ministerial meetings to institutionalize high-level military contacts.At their September 2025 meeting in Seoul, the two defense ministers agreed to revive personnel exchanges, including reciprocal visits by the two ministers, marking the first visit by a Japanese defense minister to South Korea in 10 years.During a subsequent meeting in Yokosuka this January, the South Korean and Japanese defense ministers further agreed to pursue regular ministerial visits and annual defense talks.The warming defense relationship has also begun to translate into practical military cooperation.Earlier this month, South Korea and Japan resumed their bilateral search-and-rescue exercise, known as SAREX, for the first time in nine years.The exercise had been suspended since 2018, when relations deteriorated over disputes including Japan’s display of the Rising Sun flag during the Jeju International Fleet Review and a subsequent radar lock-on dispute involving the two countries’ military aircraft and vessels.Sunday’s meeting also comes as Japan seeks to clinch a military logistics support agreement with South Korea.The agreement, formally known as an Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement, would allow the two neighboring US allies to share and mutually procure military supplies and logistical support, including fuel, food and ammunition.However, President Lee Jae Myung said during a news conference earlier this month that efforts to deepen military cooperation with Japan would face limits unless Tokyo addresses historical disputes with a “sincere” apology for its 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea.