Ep.80 Could Seoul-Tokyo trade talks serve as turning point to bilateral trade dispute?
World Ch. Schedule : THU 22:30 KST
Date : 2019-12-12
South Korea and Japan have agreed to hold high-level trade talks, signaling progress to the bilateral trade conflict that has been prolonging for more than five months.
The South Korean government expressed its willingness to talk with Japan on the trade issues, as it announced to conditionally extend GSOMIA on November 22nd.
Following South Korea’s announcement, the two sides held working-level talks in Seoul, followed by a meeting in Vienna on December 4th. Through the talks, the two sides have agreed to have their senior trade officials meet in Tokyo on December 16th, and discuss ways to cooperate on bilateral export regulation systems and other issues moving forward.
The leaders of the two nations are expected to meet for a bilateral summit in China later this month.
It remains to be seen whether South Korea and Japan could make the most of these meetings to normalize the frayed bilateral ties.