일본 정부 "대 한국 수출규제 유지..한일 국장급 대화 열 것" Following South Korea's decision to conditionally suspend the termination of GSOMIA, Japan announced that it will resume talks on its export controls with Seoul.
The United States also welcomed the move, and evaluated Seoul's decision as "a positive message."
Our Kim Da-mi has the details.
Right after Seoul's abrupt decision on Friday, Japan says it's willing to soon resume talks between export control officials of Seoul and Tokyo.
However, Yoichi Iida, the director-general of Japan's trade industry, explained that for now, his country will keep the export restrictions intact and continue to process each application for the export of the three targeted materials.
This means Seoul will remain off Tokyo's list of preferred trading partners.
Japan also confirmed the suspension of the World Trade Organization's dispute settlement process.
"Based on South Korea's notice to halt the WTO process, the South Korean side is showing its willingness to make progress on the current issue of export controls."
However, Iida said that these decisions are not at all related to Seoul's GSOMIA announcement.
The U.S., of course, welcomed South Korea's decision over GSOMIA.
In a statement released right after the announcement, the State Department said "decisions to strengthen trilateral cooperation are timely and critical, given their shared regional and global challenges."
Washington added "the decision sends a positive message that like-minded allies can work through bilateral disputes" while underlining that national defense and safety issues should remain separated from other areas of Korea-Japan relations.
Experts note Washington's comments are seen as an attempt to further confirm that the agreement has been extended as well as a warning that the Seoul-Tokyo conflict should not spill over to other national security issues.
The U.S. has long demanded that South Korea retract its decision, insisting GSOMIA is vital for security cooperation in the region and that the intel-sharing pact's termination would only benefit North Korea and China.
KIM Da-mi, Arirang News.
#Japan #GSOMIA #WTO
Arirang News Facebook:
0 Comments