SEOUL (Kyodo) -- Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae Yul are expected to affirm the importance of maintaining good bilateral relations during their meeting on Monday, amid deepening political uncertainty in Seoul following last month's impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

The ministers will also likely focus on the need for continued trilateral collaboration with the United States to address the North Korean military threat during the first visit to Seoul by a Japanese minister since Yoon's impeachment, just ahead of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration next Monday.

Yoon's presidential duties have been suspended after the parliament passed an impeachment motion over his brief imposition of martial law in early December.

The president may be removed from office by the Constitutional Court, which has 180 days of the National Assembly's Dec. 14 vote in favor of the impeachment motion to decide on the matter.

Marking the 60th anniversary of normalization this year, Japan-South Korea relations have improved since Yoon became president in 2022, with he and then Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida resuming the practice of "shuttle diplomacy," or regular mutual visits by leaders, the following year.

The two countries have stepped up cooperation with the United States under U.S. President Joe Biden's administration to better address the threats posed by North Korea's missile and nuclear programs.

But concerns are growing over the future of the three-way partnership due to Trump's skepticism of multilateralism under his "America First" doctrine.

The last South Korea visit by a Japanese foreign minister was in November 2023 by Yoko Kamikawa, who attended a gathering in Busan with her South Korean and Chinese counterparts.

Iwaya is on a four-day overseas trip through Thursday that also includes visits to the Philippines and Palau.