Japan and South Korea to hold free trade talks next week

Japan and South Korea will hold their second round of talks for a free trade agreement in Tokyo next week, the Foreign Ministry said Friday.
The three-day meeting will start on Monday following their first round of negotiations in Seoul in December, when they agreed to hold talks every two months.
The South Korean delegation will be headed by Deputy Minister for Trade Kim Hyun-Jong, while the Japanese side will be led by Ichiro Fujisaki, deputy foreign minister for economic affairs, the ministry said.
During the meeting, the two countries are to hold sub-committee meetings to discuss trade in goods, trade barriers, services and investment, the ministry said.
Japan has agreed with Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines to start talks on bilateral free trade pacts and its first such deal, with Singapore, took effect in November in 2002.
Japan had been reluctant to conclude bilateral trade agreements due to its hard line over protection of farm products, in particular rice, but it has shifted its position following deadlock in World Trade Organisation talks and China's active overtures to neighbour countries in the region.