South Korea and Japan have agreed to resume a currency swap deal, which expired last year, as part of their efforts to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation amid a global slowdown and a possible US rate hike. 
"The two countries agreed to start negotiations to reopen the currency swap deal," South Korea's Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said after a finance ministers' meeting with his counterpart Taro Aso in Seoul. 
"It represents the strong economic cooperation between Seoul and Tokyo amid rising uncertainties in the global financial market," he said. 
Details of the arrangement, including the total amount, will be decided later in the working-level meetings, according to South Korea's News Agency (Yonhap).
In February last year, Seoul and Tokyo agreed to end the US$10 billion bilateral currency swap agreement that had been maintained since 2001. 
Earlier, Seoul and Beijing agreed to extend their currency swap deal, worth 64 trillion won ($57.4 billion), scheduled to expire next year. 
The British vote to exit the European Union, or Brexit, in June dealt a huge blow to the global financial market and the South Korean market, which had experienced wide fluctuations for days. 
In recent weeks, moreover, the US Federal Reserve has been giving out hints that it will raise the key rate, further stirring up volatility in the global financial market. 
Some 70 officials, including vice ministers, from the two countries having working-level sessions before and after the meeting.