Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan is seen in a video conference with Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ryosei Akazawa on the 18th in the video conference room in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, discussing cooperation plans for supply chains and resource security, key cooperation agendas between the two countries. [Provided by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy]

Korea and Japan will push for the establishment of a crude oil and petroleum product swap system on the occasion of the South Korea-Japan summit held in Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do on the 19th.

This move comes as the prolonged war in the Middle East increases uncertainty in energy supply and demand, prompting the two countries to cooperate on energy security.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the same day that, in conjunction with the South Korea-Japan summit, it had jointly developed cooperation plans with Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, outlining measures to strengthen energy security and supply chain resilience.

The two countries have agreed to first establish a swap system in the crude oil and petroleum product sectors, where they will flexibly exchange volumes in case of supply disruptions in either country.

The plan is to refrain from unnecessary export restrictions during supply and demand crises and to cooperate closely in crude oil procurement and transportation, thereby enhancing negotiation power with major resource-producing countries and improving logistics stability.

Both South Korea and Japan, which are the world's third and second largest importers of liquefied natural gas (LNG) respectively, will also strengthen cooperation in LNG supply and demand.

Building on the "Memorandum of Understanding for LNG Supply and Demand Cooperation" signed on March 14th between Korea Gas Corporation and Japan's energy company JERA, the governments of both countries plan to further develop their cooperative relationship for LNG supply and demand stability.

A crisis response mechanism will also be refined to enhance supply chain resilience in key industrial sectors.

Based on the "Korea-Japan Supply Chain Partnership" signed in March by Minister Kim Jung-kwan of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Minister Ryosei Akazawa of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the governments of both countries have agreed to further strengthen cooperation on supply chain resilience.

Furthermore, the scope of cooperation will be expanded to the entire Asian region.

Through Japan's proposed "Partnership for Strengthening Energy and Resource Supply Chains in Asia (POWERR Asia)," possibilities for joint cooperation will be explored in various areas, including stockpiling.

To this end, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will launch the "Korea-Japan Trade and Industry Policy Dialogue," involving high-level officials from both sides, and institutionalize intergovernmental discussions.

An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated, "We recognized the need to strengthen cooperation in energy security and supply chain resilience amid increasing uncertainties," and added, "We will jointly explore practical cooperation measures to concretize the follow-up actions from the discussions between the two leaders."