The presidential office said President Lee Jae-myung discussed lifting restrictions on Fukushima seafood in a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in connection with joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The issue of resuming seafood imports was put on the agenda linked to joining the multilateral free trade agreement led by Japan.
While reaffirming Korea's intention to seek CPTPP membership, Lee said specific steps such as lifting the seafood import ban should go through "working-level consultations." The issue is too sensitive to conclude immediately at a summit. However, in an NHK interview before the trip, Lee said, "Resuming seafood imports is an important agenda item to be actively discussed in connection with CPTPP cooperation." In economic security, amid China's move to restrict rare earth exports to Japan, the two countries agreed to strengthen "supply chain cooperation."
Wi Sung-lac, director of the Office of National Security, said at a briefing at the press center in Osaka, Japan, on the 14th, "In this summit, there was an explanation from the Japanese side about food safety, and we listened to it," adding, "There was also discussion of CPTPP membership, and we reaffirmed our intention to pursue membership." He added, "I think this issue requires further consultations among working-level departments."
Japan has demanded as a precondition that the Korean government, which hopes to join the CPTPP, relax and lift the ban on imports of Japanese seafood. Wi said, "Regarding the discussion on joining the CPTPP, we talked about our basic approach," but added, "There were no detailed discussions. The talks were held in a positive tone (atmosphere) about membership." He went on, "The related conversation ended with the understanding that detailed matters require additional working-level consultations."
◇ Amid pressure from China's rare earth export controls, "Korea-Japan consensus on supply chain cooperation"
At the summit, the two countries expressed their "willingness to cooperate on supply chains," Wi said. The agreement is noteworthy as it comes while China is controlling exports of rare earths and other critical minerals to Japan in retaliation for Prime Minister Takaichi's remarks about possible military involvement in a Taiwan contingency. In a media statement the previous day, Takaichi also said, "We agreed to deepen discussions among relevant ministries so that we can pursue strategic and mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of economic security," adding that among those areas, the two discussed supply chain cooperation "in depth."
Wi said, "The supply chain issue is a very important matter among the pending issues we face now," adding, "It is an international issue, and Korea is one of the countries affected by it." He also said, "We have a high dependence on trade, and high external dependence on certain materials," adding, "A stable supply chain is a very important issue in our economic and economic security policy. There was discussion on that, and there was a consensus to cooperate with each other." He added, "Working-level preparations are under way. It will take a bit more time, but there will be results."
The meeting between Lee and Takaichi was the third, following last year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Gyeongju and the Group of 20 (G20) summit in South Africa. The two countries had so far mentioned only principled positions on sensitive issues such as historical disputes. This time, however, the two agreed to cooperate to identify DNA from the remains of Koreans who died in the Chosei undersea coal mine flooding accident. Asked whether the Dokdo issue was discussed at this summit, Wi answered, "There was no Dokdo Day or Dokdo-related discussion."