Japan and South Korea held security talks for the first time in three years in Tokyo on Thursday, exchanging views on North Korea and the rest of the security situation in Northeast Asia.

The 11th round of the talks follows the South Korean government's announcement that Kim Jong Un has expressed a readiness to discuss denuclearization.

A summit is planned in late April between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae In, with another between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump to follow.

The Japanese and South Korean officials may discuss how they would cooperate on security in the event that dialogue with North Korea goes poorly and tensions on the Korean Peninsula heighten.

Japan is represented by Kenji Kanasugi, head of the Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, while South Korea is represented by Kim Yong Kil, head of the South Korean Foreign Ministry's Northeast Asian Affairs Bureau.

Shuji Yuge and Park Chul Kyun, international policy officials at the Japanese and South Korean defense ministries, are among the other participants.

The last round of the talks, which began in 1998, was held in Seoul in April 2015.