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South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. (Yonhap News)

With the South Korean government having decided to resume World Trade Organization (WTO) complaint procedures over intensified controls on Japanese exports, the South Korean and Japan foreign ministers discussed issues in a telephone conversation on June 3 -- but only succeeded in confirming their differences.

“Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha spoke by telephone this morning with Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Toshimitsu Motegi, and they discussed major issues and areas of mutual interest between South Korea and Japan, including the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and Japan’s export control measures,” the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said. Organized at Japan’s request, the telephone conversation that day was the first bilateral dialogue between South Korea and Japan since February.

During the conversation, Kang expressed profound dismay over the export controls remaining in place even after South Korea’s active efforts to eliminate the grounds cited by Japan for its decision, including amendment of its Foreign Trade Act, MOFA explained. On June 2, the South Korean government announced that it was resuming its WTO complaint against Japan, which it claimed had not been “sincere” in its dialogue to resolve the export control issue. In response, Motegi expressed his “deep dismay” to Kang over the decision, which he said was “not helpful toward resolving the issue,” according to a report by the Kyodo News agency.

Kang also stressed the importance of the issue of survivors of forced labor mobilization by Japan, who were awarded compensation in a ruling by the South Korean Supreme Court. In contrast, Motegi insisted that the liquidation of Japanese companies’ assets seized in accordance with the decision “would create a serious situation and should be avoided.”

The two ministers agreed on the need to expand their cooperation in connection with the pandemic. However, concrete matters such as support for face masks, exports of diagnostic kits, and travel by businesspeople were reportedly not discussed.

The conversation between the two foreign ministers was their first since a trilateral teleconference with China in March in connection with coronavirus response efforts, and their first bilateral dialogue since the two met in Munich in February.

By Kim So-youn, staff reporter, and Cho Ki-weon, Tokyo correspondent

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