SEJONG: South Korea has agreed to hold talks with Japan next week over its import ban on Japanese fishery goods that followed Japan’s nuclear accident, the Seoul government said Monday.
The bilateral talks will be held in Geneva on June 24 with the possibility of being extended one day, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The move comes as Tokyo filed a formal complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) late last month against Seoul’s import ban, to which the Seoul government has expressed regret.
South Korea has banned imports of all fishery products from eight Japanese prefectures, including Fukushima, where the 2011 earthquake and tsunami caused the meltdown of a nuclear reactor, marking the worst nuclear accident since the Chernobyl disaster.
The import ban was imposed in September 2013 after reports that massive amounts of radioactive materials and contaminated water from the Fukushima reactor were being dumped in waters surrounding Japan prompted serious safety concerns here.
Bilateral consultations are the first step in the process of settling trade disputes under WTO regulations while the regulations require such talks to begin within 30 days of a request from either party.
If no settlement is reached within 60 days of the request, the complainant can ask for the establishment of a dispute settlement board.
South Korea maintains its import ban has been and still is legitimate and necessary to ensure the safety of its people.
“The government plans to actively deal with the issue raised by Japan based on the WTO charter and other related regulations,” the ministry said.
