South Korea and Japan will meet next week to discuss whether to resume negotiations for a proposed free trade agreement between the two nations, officials said Thursday.
The two sides started free trade talks in December 2003, but the talks were suspended in November 2004 due to wide disagreements over liberalizing farm goods. Both South Korea and Japan want to vigorously protect their rice market from competition.
Trade officials from South Korea and Japan will hold a meeting on Monday for two days in Tokyo, South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said.
"During the meeting, the two sides will discuss whether to resume free trade talks," said Han Dong-man, the ministry's senior coordinator for trade policy planning and public relations, by telephone.
"The matter of resuming free trade talks depends on the Japanese side," Han said. "The degree to which Japan lowers its trade barriers on agricultural goods will depend on whether we return to the negotiating table."
Japan is South Korea's third-largest export destination after China and the United States. Two-way trade reached US$54 billion in 2005, with South Korea recording a deficit of $16 billion, according to government figures.
Diplomatic relations between South Korea and Japan have soured over former Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi's repeated visits to a controversial shrine in Tokyo, which critics say glorifies Japan's past militarism.
Meanwhile, South Korea and the United States ended their fifth round of free trade talks earlier this month without any breakthroughs in key areas such as agriculture, automobiles and pharmaceuticals.
Seoul, Dec. 14 (Yonhap News)
S. Korea, Japan to discuss resumption of free trade talks next week |
