S. KOREA-JP HOLD TALKS OVER TRADE DISPUTE

[Anchor Lead]

South Korea and Japan will hold their second round of bilateral consultations at the World Trade Organization on Tuesday over Seoul's complaint against Tokyo's export restrictions. South Korea plans to bring the issue to trial if Japan remains uncooperative about reaching an agreement.

[Pkg]

The South Korean delegation has departed for Switzerland, a day ahead of a new round of negotiations with Japan. South Korea will be represented by Chung Hae-kwan, the director general in charge of legal affairs at the trade ministry. His Japanese counterpart is Junichiro Kuroda. The South Korean side will again stress that Japan's export restrictions are a violation of WTO trade rules, with plans to demand the withdrawal of the curbs.

[Soundbite] CHUNG HAE-KWAN(KOREA'S CHIEF NEGOTIATOR) : "The consultations are in accordance with WTO dispute settlement procedures. We will sincerely participate in the consultations in line with its purposes."

The first goal of the upcoming talks is to reach an agreement and settle the dispute through dialogue. However, it will likely be the final talks before the issue is brought to trial. As the WTO's first trial procedure, a panel can be set up only 60 days after a request is made for consultations. This prerequisite has been fulfilled already. South Korea has been doing its best to resolve the issue through talks, having requested for the arrangement of Tuesday's negotiations. Japan has recently made clear that it has no plan to shift its position. At the first round of talks held last month, Tokyo insisted that Seoul has problems with its export management system.

[Soundbite] CHUNG HAE-KWAN(KOREA'S CHIEF NEGOTIATOR) : "If Japan is uncooperative in the talks, we will actively consider going to the next stage of setting up a panel."

However, Seoul says that it is willing to hold more negotiations if Tuesday's talks show potential for a quick settlement. It emphasized, however, that Tokyo's recent individual export approvals on three materials are irrelevant to the ongoing dispute.