김현종 방미 "日 수출규제 美 중재 논의"<br /><br />Our top story this evening.<br />Amid the country's escalating trade tensions with Japan,... senior South Korean officials are in Washington to discuss the matter with their U.S. counterparts.<br />At the same time, working-level trade talks between South Korea and Japan have been scheduled to take place tomorrow.<br />Our Kim Hyesung starts us off.<br />South Korea's Deputy National Security Advisor Kim Hyun-chong arrived in Washington on Wednesday local time to meet U.S. officials and discuss trade and security issues.<br />"I'm here as there are many issues to discuss with White House officials and lawmakers..."<br />"Will you request U.S. mediation on Japan's trade restrictions?"<br />"That issue will certainly be discussed. Most definitely."<br />Kim's trip came a day after South Korean President Moon Jae-in urged Japan to refrain from leading the situation to a "dead-end" and respond to Seoul's efforts to resolve the matter diplomatically.<br />Tokyo imposed trade restrictions on key, high-tech materials to South Korea last week, and Seoul and Tokyo clashed at the WTO over the export curbs earlier this week.<br />Seoul's top diplomat for Bilateral Economic Affairs, Kim Hee-sang, is also in Washington, to meet with U.S. officials, including Marc Knapper, the State Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Korea and Japan.<br />He is expected to outline the potential impact of Tokyo's controversial trade measures and the possible spillover effect on the global supply chain of electronic products.<br />South Korea's trade minister Yoo Myung-hee is also expected to meet with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer next week.<br />The trade ministry also confirmed Thursday that working-level trade officials from South Korea and Japan will meet Friday afternoon in Tokyo to discuss Japan's trade restrictions.<br />It added that it will call on Japan to elaborate on its allegations... that South Korea illegally exported items such as hydrogen fluoride to the North,... a substance which can be used in chemical weapons.<br />The ministry said the claims are groundless, adding that South Korea has strong trade controls and that those materials were not shipped to any countries under UN sanctions.<br />Kim Hyesung, Arirang News.<br />
