Japan's Agriculture Minister Shinjiro Koizumi is set to visit South Korea to attend ministerial meetings involving Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC) member states, as well as a trilateral dialogue of ministers from South Korea, Japan and China.

According to an announcement by Seoul's foreign ministry on Friday, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun is scheduled to meet with Koizumi on Monday.

It is considered rare for a foreign minister to meet with the head of a different ministry from a foreign country in the absence of any particular issue of concern.

Amid speculation that the two may discuss Seoul's restriction on Japanese seafood imports, an official from the ministry said that, should the Japanese minister raise the matter, Cho is expected to respond in accordance with Seoul's basic position.

Koizumi, the son of former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, is leading the polls as the most favored potential candidate for Prime Minister as the country's next prime minister, amid calls for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba to step down following the ruling party's defeat in last month's upper house election.

Meanwhile, Koizumi is set to meet with Agriculture Minister Song Mi-ryung at the APEC meeting on Wednesday and the trilateral meeting on Thursday for talks on ways to enhance relevant forms of cooperation.