1. The 14th Republic of Korea-Japan High-Level Economic Consultation took place at the Japanese Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on January 12, with Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs Lee Tae-ho of the ROK Foreign Ministry and Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs Yasumasa Nagamine of the Japanese Foreign Ministry leading their respective delegations.

2. In the first high-level meeting between the ROK and Japan in 2016, the two sides engaged in an extensive exchange of views on their respective economic situations and matters of concern. They also comprehensively discussed ways to work together on the multilateral and regional levels.

[ROK and Japan’s economic situations and matters of concern]

◦ The two sides noted with appreciation that amid the current uncertainty in the global economy, the two countries are making efforts to improve their economic situations through structural reforms, and exchanged views on their respective economic policies, including the ROK’s “Three Year Plan for Economic Innovation” and Japan’s “Abenomics.”

- In particular, the two sides underscored the need for their governments to make efforts to bring back on track material and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, which have lately been on the decline.

◦ The ROK side proposed boosting cooperation to render stronger governmental support to Korean and Japanese companies for their joint entry into third countries and to vitalize exchanges between young talents of the two countries, as well as in the energy sector, as discussed at the bilateral summit talks on November 2, 2015. The Japanese responded positively to the proposal.

- In particular, the two countries, the world’s two largest importers of liquefied natural gas (LNG), shared the need to build a cooperative mechanism in the LNG sector and discussed ways to work together in the field of nuclear safety in Northeast Asia.

* Earlier in the day, Deputy Minister Lee met with Director-General of the Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Science Department Aikawa of the Japanese Foreign Ministry to discuss ways to cooperate on the envisioned consultative mechanism for nuclear safety in Northeast Asia.

◦ The ROK side asked the Japanese government to cooperate actively to embark on negotiations for a bilateral social security agreement at an early date and to resolve challenges facing Korean companies in Japan.

◦ Meanwhile, the Japanese side expressed concern over the ROK’s ban on fishery imports from Japan and the possible impact of the trial in the ROK involving those who had been forced to work during Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

- In response, the ROK side explained that with a dispute settlement panel set up at the World Trade Organization (WTO) at the request of the Japanese government to look into the ROK's ban on Japanese fishery imports, the ROK will actively address it in accordance with the relevant procedures of the WTO.

- With regard to the trial in the ROK involving those who had been forced to work during Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, the ROK side mentioned that with the trial currently under way, it remains to be seen what verdict will be issued.

[Multilateral and regional cooperation]

◦ The two sides, sharing the need for economic integration in East Asia, agreed to work more closely together to lead the integration by moving forward with the negotiations for the proposed ROK-Japan-China FTA and for the envisioned Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

◦ The two sides, noting with appreciating their close cooperation at the G20, APEC and others, agreed to continue close cooperation at the G20 Summit in China on September 4-5, 2016, and the APEC Summit in Peru on November 19-20, 2016.

◦ The two side, taking note of the “Paris Agreement” adopted at the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21) in December 2015, discussed ways to successfully implement the new climate regime and to cooperate at the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF), both of which are hosted by the ROK.

3. The 14th ROK-Japan High-Level Economic Consultation carries significance as an opportunity to comprehensively review pending bilateral issues and matters of mutual concern in the economic sector and to discuss ways for future-oriented economic cooperation between the two countries. Among the agenda were follow-up economic measures to what was discussed at the bilateral summit talks in 2015, including the proposed joint entry of Korean and Japanese countries into third countries and exchanges between young talents of the two countries.

◦ The two sides agreed to continue reviewing the progress in the implementation of the follow-up measures discussed at the meeting.


* unofficial translation