Moon Says South Korea Ready To Work With Japan If Tokyo Chooses Dialogue Amid Trade Row

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Thursday that his country was ready to cooperate with Japan to end an ongoing trade dispute, stressing that Seoul will be glad to "join hands" if Tokyo wants to talk

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th August, 2019) South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Thursday that his country was ready to cooperate with Japan to end an ongoing trade dispute, stressing that Seoul will be glad to "join hands" if Tokyo wants to talk.

"Better late than never: if Japan chooses the path of dialogue and cooperation, we will gladly join hands. We will strive with Japan to create an East Asia that engages in fair trade and cooperation," Moon was quoted as saying by the Yonhap news agency.

The statement came as part of Moon's Liberation Day speech marking the end of Japan's colonial rule of Korea in 1945.

The trade row between Seoul and Tokyo is ongoing since July, when Japan canceled preferential treatment for the exports of fluorinated polyimides, photoresist and hydrogen fluoride to South Korea.

Earlier in August, Tokyo decided to remove Seoul from the whitelist of trade partners that have preferences in importing Japanese technologies and high-tech products from August 28.

Japan's decision to impose the restrictions is believed to be related to Japan's preparation for the selling of assets of Japanese companies, ordered by a South Korean court to provide compensations to the victims of forced labor during the Japanese colonization of the Korean Peninsula in 1910-1945.