A group of women peace activists, led by American feminist Gloria Steinem, made a rare crossing of one of the world's most militarised borders on Sunday to promote reconciliation between North and South Korea.

Tokyo: Japan and South Korea on Saturday held the first dialogue of their financial chiefs in two and a half years, agreeing to improve economic ties despite diplomatic frictions between the two Asian countries. Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso and his South Korean counterpart Choi Kyung-Hwan held a one-day meeting in Tokyo, the first since November 2012 and since conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office in December that year.

While in South Korea Modi met with President Park Geun-hye and oversaw the signing of a range of agreements between the two countries. The main focus of Mr. Modi’s visit is to promote the new image of India under his leadership in attracting Korean investment in his pet projects at home; Swatch Bharat Abhiyan, 100 Smart Cities, Digital India and Make in India.

Stay for a while in Mizoram’s capital Aizawl and you start catching glimpses of South Korea. Travel around the state and the images emerge repeatedly ‒ in the clothes, the hair styles, even the furniture.

The co-production agreement includes cooperation between the film industries of the two countries to promote export of Indian films and will act as a catalyst towards creating awareness about India and its culture. This will also help in increasing bilateral trade between both countries.

With Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi currently on a three nation visit to May 19, all eyes will be on his time in China. His stops in South Korea and Mongolia will receive less attention.

Seoul is an increasingly active player in the Middle East. Relying almost entirely on foreign oil imports, South Korea is economically disposed to chart a delicate political course between its suppliers in Iran and the Gulf.

Japan’s government is paying to have Japanese-language nonfiction books translated into English, with the first works to be produced under the program arriving in American libraries this month. The move is one of several nontraditional public-relations steps by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration, which is trying to enhance Japan’s profile among U.S. opinion leaders and the general public as it engages in a public relations battle with China and South Korea.