Exactly 100 days have passed since Japan imposed trade curbs on South Korea in July.<br />And today, the two countries began their consultations at the World Trade Organization in Geneva.<br />This is the first step of the dispute settlement process at the WTO.<br />Yoon Jung-min has the details.<br />Trade officials from Seoul and Tokyo started their meeting at the World Trade Organization in Geneva on Friday at around 10:30 AM local time,... to discuss Japan's export restrictions on South Korea.<br />The bilateral consultations are the very first step when a trade dispute is brought to the international dispute settlement body,... and the talks are usually carried out at the working-level.<br />However, given the significance of the matter,... director-generals from the two countries are sitting down for the meeting this time.<br />The South Korean trade ministry's Director General for Trade Legal Affairs, Chung Hae-kwan is meeting his Japanese counterpart ( )Junichiro Kuroda.<br />According to South Korean government sources,... third parties, the European Union and Taiwan, have asked to join in the consultations,... but Japan has reportedly rejected such requests.<br />The EU has pointed out that Japan's export curbs on Korea will affect the global supply chain of goods.<br />The EU supplies machinery related to chip manufacture to South Korea,... while Taiwan is trading semiconductor materials with Korea.<br />Seoul and Tokyo are expected to get the results of Friday's consultations on Saturday morning, Korea time.<br />If the talks do not go well, Seoul is expected to send a formal request to set up a panel at the WTO to make a ruling on the matter.<br />Back in July, Tokyo imposed export restrictions on South Korea on three high-tech materials, which are crucial for the production of semiconductors and displays.<br />The South Korean government has been stressing that Japan's export curbs violate WTO rules and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.<br />Yoon Jung-min, Arirang News.<br />
