High Level Trade Officials From South Korea and Japan to Meet in December

According to an official statement by the South Korean trade ministry, South Korea is set to hold high level trade discussions with Japan in December, a move that markets hope could help resolve the trade dispute between the two nations. Earlier this year, Japan had restricted the supply of key raw materials used by tech companies in South Korea, which escalated trade tensions between the two Asian countries.

Also on the agenda will be the issue of Japan’s decision to remove South Korea from its trade white-list, which makes it harder for South Korean companies to export goods to Japan. Japan’s moves faced intense retaliation by South Korean consumers who called for a boycott of Japanese products in the market. In addition, South Korea had also taken Japan off its list of countries which enjoyed a fast-track status on trade.

A senior trade ministry official from South Korea stated in a news briefing, “We will pursue dialogue with an ultimate goal to make things like the white list or three items go back to the original state.”

The high level trade talks are scheduled to take place around the third week of December in Tokyo. In the meantime, South Korea has also agreed to continue sharing intelligence with Japan.