UN Chief Urges Japan, South Korea To Resolve Trade Dispute Bilaterally - Spokesman

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published July 18, 2019 | 11:40 PM

UNITED NATIONS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 18th July, 2019) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls on Japan and South Korea to overcome the trade dispute in a bilateral and friendly way, and hopes that the differences between the countries would be resolved, UN spokesman Farhan Haq said in a press briefing on Thursday.

"These are countries that are able to deal with each other in an amicable and bilateral way; we are simply urging them to continue to do so, and we are hopeful that any differences will be resolved," Haq told reporters.

Earlier on Thursday, Seoul said it plans to announce later in July a set of economic measures to help national producers cope with Japan's restrictions on exports of high-tech materials to South Korea.

In early July, Japan introduced restrictions on exports of some high-tech materials, such as fluorinated polyimides, photoresist and hydrogen fluoride, which are used by South Korean technology firms to produce semiconductors and displays, as a response to South Korean court rulings that ordered a number of Japanese companies to pay reparations for using forced labor during Japan's time as a colonial power.

South Korean Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said at a parliamentary session that the measures would aim to diversify import sources and boost national industrial competitiveness, according to the Yonhap news agency.

Last week, South Korean President Moon Jae-in warned that Japan's economy would suffer due to these export restrictions, but stressed that a diplomatic solution remained a priority.

Japan's official position regarding reparations for Koreans who were forced into labor by Japanese companies during Japan's colonial rule between 1910 and 1945 is that the 1965 Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea had fully resolved the matter. From Japan's point of view, the recent string of court rulings on the issue in South Korea goes against previous agreements between the two countries.