Japan's Abe asks South Korea's Moon to act on row at first meeting for 15 months

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shakes hands with South Korea's President Moon Jae-in during their meeting in Chengdu, China, December 24, 2019, in this photo released by Kyodo. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS

CHENGDU, China/SEOUL (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe asked South Korea's president on Tuesday to take steps to resolve a bitter dispute at their first bilateral talks in 15 months, a sign that while the mood is improving, knotty problems between the U.S. allies remain.

Abe and South Korean President Moon Jae-in stressed, at their meeting in China, the need to improve ties after the worst period of tension between their countries in decades.