Japan-Korea summit may pave way for trade talks

Tokyo, Oct 6: Japan is hoping a fence-mending visit by its new prime minister, Shinzo Abe, to South Korea next week will clear the way for the two countries to resume negotiations on a free trade agreement, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Friday.

Working level talks on a trade deal have been stalled since 2004, with the two nations at loggerheads over a range of political issues, many relating to Japan's militarist past, as well as over the content of any agreement.

''The visit of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe obviously is going to give new impetus to the negotiations,'' said foreign ministry deputy spokesman Tomohiko Taniguchi.

He added that he was optimistic about the prospects for progress on the issue, but did not know when talks might resume.

Abe is set to meet South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun in Seoul on Monday.

South Korea is Japan's third-largest trading partner after China and the United States, with bilateral trade amounting to 8 trillion yen last year.

Seoul wants to reduce its trade deficit with Tokyo by increasing exports of agricultural produce, but Japan has been reluctant to lift restrictions on trade in farm goods.

South Korean Deputy Prime Minister Kwon Okyu, who is also Minister of Finance and Economy, recently said his government wants to resume talks sometime next year, given the importance of the neighbouring countries' trade and investments, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said on Friday.

The paper said the relevant Japanese and South Korean ministries could begin hammering out a consensus that will help bring both nations back to the negotiating table as early as this year.

Reuters

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