Our top story this afternoon... little progress was made on Friday, during the first working-level talks between South Korea and Japan... over Tokyo's export curbs on high-tech materials to Seoul. <br />At the 6-hour long meeting held in Tokyo, Japan reaffirmed its stance, that its export restrictions do not violate WTO rules... and is not a retaliation over South Korea's Supreme Court's ruling on wartime forced labor.<br />Instead, it said the curbs were introduced... in response to Seoul's lack of export control on key strategic items.<br />South Korean officials countered by saying Seoul's export control is tighter than Japan's,... and stressed that imposing restrictions on such short notice was improper.<br />Seoul's trade ministry proposed follow-up talks with Japan before July 24,... as Japan is reviewing a list of new restrictions,... and is set to make its decision on removing South Korea from its export white list by then. <br />
