A delegation of South Korean lawmakers is back in Seoul after a two-day visit to Japan where they met with Japanese lawmakers to urge Tokyo to end its trade retaliation.
Speaking before leaving Tokyo on Thursday,... the ten-member team said it delivered Seoul's stance and the ball is now in Japan's court.
"Our delegation explained the South Korean people's concerns. We first called on Japan to come to the negotiating table to resolve the issue diplomatically. We also said that removing Seoul from Japan's trade whitelist could have serious implications for bilateral ties and urged them to cancel or put off their plans."
However, it appears the South Korean delegation has only been able to reconfirm that the two countries remain far apart on the issue.
While the Japanese side shares the view that the trade dispute is a serious matter,... they don't agree with Seoul that Tokyo's actions are unjust... insisting it's just part of measures to manage its exports.
On top of that, Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party,... who is close to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe... abruptly called off a scheduled meeting with the South Korean delegation.
The team called the move a diplomatic discourtesy,... saying the cancellation likely indicates Tokyo will remove Seoul from its trade white list.
