Our top story this evening.<br />Amid the trade spat between Seoul and Tokyo,… South Korean government officials are busy trying to rally the international community to its cause. <br />The country's trade minister returned from her trip to Washington,… and said her U.S. counterpart had agreed on the severity of Japan's trade curbs and its global impact. <br />Our Lee Ji-won starts us off.<br />South Korea's trade minister Yoo Myung-hee completed her 5-day trip to the U.S. Saturday morning,... in an effort to raise awareness on the global impact of Tokyo's trade restrictions on Seoul. <br />"I met with U.S. economic and trade authorities. The outcome of the trip, I believe, was broadening the thought and understanding that Japan's trade restrictions on South Korea not only affect bilateral ties, but also U.S. industries and the global supply chain as well."<br />She added that Wilbur Ross, the U.S. Commerce Secretary, agreed on the severity of the fallout,... and that he hinted Washington could play a role in the situation if necessary. <br />Minister Yoo also conveyed worries being expressed by those in the information technology industry,... that Japan's trade restrictions on South Korea would lead to a delay in product shipments and disrupt the global value chain. <br />Japan earlier this month announced trade restrictions on South Korea... governing the export of high-tech materials that are used to make semiconductors and displays.<br />Tokyo's decision comes... after the South Korean Supreme Court ordered Japanese companies last year... to compensate Korean victims of forced labor during the Japanese colonial period.<br />Minister Yoo is expected to attend the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Ministerial meeting in China's Zhengzhou City early next month.<br />There, she could once again highlight the discriminatory nature of Japan's export controls... and ask for the international community's support. <br />Meanwhile, Japan could further aggravate the situation... by approving new trade rules to remove South Korea from its "whitelist" of countries that enjoy preferential trade treatment, on August 2nd. <br />Lee Ji-won, Arirang News. <br />
