Could today be the day for a breakthrough?<br />The first substantive talks between South Korea and Japan since Tokyo slapped export curbs on Seoul will take place in the Japanese capital in the coming hours,... slightly over a week after Japan imposed the restrictions.<br />It's expected South Korean officials will press their Japanese counterparts to tell them why they took such extreme steps.<br />Lee Seung-jae reports.<br />Seoul's trade ministry announced Thursday that it will hold working-level talks with its Japanese counterpart in Tokyo on Friday,... marking their first face-to-face meeting since Japan implemented its strict trade curbs on three tech-related products that South Korean firms need to produce semiconductors and display panels.<br />Japan claims its new regulations are due to Seoul's non-compliance with UN-led sanctions on North Korea.<br />South Korea has strongly rejected those claims, insisting there's no evidence of such violations.<br />It has also pressed Tokyo to stop making groundless allegations against the South.<br />The focus of Friday's talks will be on Japan's stance.<br />Several Japanese media outlets have also accused Seoul of breaching sanctions on North Korea.<br />The Sankei Shimbun newspaper said the management of strategic materials in South Korea has been poor,... claiming it illegally exported Japanese-produced materials to North Korea that could be used to make weapons of mass destruction.<br />Japan's Fuji TV has also raised suspicions Seoul has been sending materials to Pyeongyang.<br />The South Korean government says Japan is the only country that has an issue with Seoul's export control system,... adding it's management is among the best in the world.<br /><br />"All these baseless allegations made by Japanese media will only undermine international confidence in Japan."<br />.<br />The South Korean government plans to seek answers from Japan about the allegations during Friday's talks.<br />While Seoul has been pushing for high-level talks,... Japan has repeatedly rebuffed those attempts,... instead agreeing to working-level talks.<br />It's also expected that the South Korean government will demand clarification on Japan's own export control measures.<br />The talks raise hope for a possible breakthrough, but with the two sides so far apart on the various issues, it seems unlikely that one low-level meeting will lead to a resolution.<br />Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.<br />
