S.Korea reaction to Noda-Lee summit

Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak have agreed to resume shuttle diplomacy, but failed to smooth out their differences over a bilateral economic agreement.

Noda and Lee agreed at their meeting in Seoul on Wednesday to strengthen working-level discussions to prepare for talks on an Economic Partnership Agreement. The EPA talks have been stalled for 7 years.

Japan wants the negotiations restarted as soon as possible, but Lee told reporters after the meeting that the talks must benefit both countries, and that businesses differ in opinion. He declined to pledge any further steps due to worries among South Korean industries that if an agreement is signed and tariffs lowered, the country's trade deficit with Japan will grow.

Referring to shuttle diplomacy, Lee said he plans to visit Japan this year, but that he's reluctant to become a state guest as the country hopes. This is apparently in consideration of growing public anger toward Japan over its handling of a dispute concerning a group of islets in the Sea of Japan.

In August this year, a group of Japanese lawmakers tried to visit a South Korean island near the islets to underscore Japan's sovereignty over them.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011 17:43 +0900 (JST)