Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya will travel to South Korea on Monday to shore up security cooperation between the East Asian neighbours and their mutual U.S. ally that is meant to counter China's growing regional power.

The top diplomats of South Korea and Japan were set to hold talks Monday on ways to sustain and advance bilateral ties, as well as trilateral cooperation with the United States, ahead of the launch of the second Donald Trump administration.

Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya said on Sunday he planned to attend Donald Trump's inauguration as U.S. president on Jan. 20, as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's government hopes to maintain close ties with its security ally.