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By Do Je-hae
Vice Unification Minister Suh Ho's July 16-18 visit to Tokyo is drawing keen attention amid escalating tensions over Japan's tightened export controls on items crucial to Korea's tech industry.
Suh is the highest official to visit Japan following Tokyo's July 4 implementation of export restrictions interpreted by Seoul as Japan's retaliation over last year's Supreme Court ruling awarding compensation for Korean victims of forced labor at Japanese companies during World War II.
Ministry spokesperson Lee Sang-min confirmed Suh's visit Monday, but he did not elaborate on who the vice minister will be meeting in Japan. "We are in the process of arranging a meeting with relevant Japanese officials," Lee said during a regular press briefing.
The main purpose of Suh's visit is to participate in a joint forum arranged by the Ministry of Unification, the Sejong Institute and Keiko University and deliver a keynote address on Japan's role in Korean Peninsula peace process, the ministry said.
Reports said Suh plans to meet high-level officials in the Japanese foreign ministry, including Kenji Kanasugi, director-general of the ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau. The Japanese official earlier met with Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs, in Singapore in May.
If the meeting between the vice unification minister and Japan's key official on Asia affairs is realized, it will be the highest-level bilateral meeting to take place amid Tokyo's continued rebuff toward Seoul's suggestion for diplomatic negotiations to settle the bilateral trade row.
Working-level talks between the trade officials were held in Tokyo last week, but the five-hour meeting failed to narrow the differences in their positions. Tokyo has underlined the need for better control of export materials due to unproven claims of their diversion into North Korea, while Seoul asked for an immediate cancellation of the measures it views as a retaliation over last year's ruling.
Japan is expected to declare additional restrictions later this month that could delay import procedures on over 1,000 items.
Also, with the trade row deepening with no significant headway in bilateral negotiations, concerns are rising that the trade row may impact bilateral security issues, such as the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA).
"Such concerns underline the need to resolve the trade issue quickly and that is why we have been urging Japan to take part in diplomatic negotiations," a presidential aide told reporters in a briefing at Cheong Wa Dae, Tuesday afternoon.
The Japanese foreign ministry has requested that Seoul respond by July 18 on its proposal for a three-nation arbitration panel to review the Supreme Court and has warned of additional countermeasures. Seoul has been negative about the proposal.
"The administrative branch cannot have a say in the judiciary's decision. Regarding the arbitration committee, our position remains unchanged," said the presidential aide.
