Japan and South Korean senior trade representatives had their first meeting in over three years on Monday, December 16. The relationship between the two US allies cooled after Japan imposed controls on exports of materials used for semiconductors and high technologies.
The two sides said that they had reached “common ground” and would talk again.
In July, Japan imposed curbs on exports to South Korea of
several essential materials, threatening Korea’s technology sector, which is an
important pillar of the country’s economy. Japan said that the move came amid its
worries about insufficient South Korean controls on the three materials.
However, the truth is that the two countries cannot reach consensus in a
dispute over Japan’s actions from World War 2.
Yoichi Iida, director-general at the Japanese trade ministry's
trade control department met with South Korean trade representative Lee
Ho-Hyeon in Tokyo. The talks lasted more than three hours than initially
planned. Japanese trade minister Hiroshi Kajiyama revealed there was “progress.”
The next trade talks will be held in Seoul, the capital city of South Korea.
Kajiyama told
media:
“These policy talks
were the first ones for three-and-a-half years, and we verified each others'
position. We'll make a judgment after building on this.”
South Korea's trade ministry admitted that there were
differences in perceptions, but overall there was enhanced understanding.