S. Korean envoy indicates concerns must be addressed for FTA talks+

TOKYO, July 11 Kyodo -
New South Korean Ambassador to Japan Shin Kak Soo indicated Monday that Seoul's concerns about trade with Japan must be addressed before the resumption of long-suspended talks on a bilateral free-trade agreement.
Speaking at a press conference in Tokyo, Shin also said he expects South Korea to open the door wider to partially restricted Japanese pop culture contents in the future but did not elaborate on the issue of a long-standing territorial dispute.
''There should be a sense of trust that the talks will definitely lead to a conclusion once they are resumed after an adequate environment is cultivated,'' Shin said, stressing that there is already a consensus between the two governments about the need for such an agreement.
Shin, who commenced his stint as Seoul's top diplomat in Japan around a month earlier, noted that South Korea has two main concerns about proceeding with negotiations on the agreement -- the structural trade imbalance that is tipped against South Korea and nontariff barriers in Japan.
South Koreans are worried that an FTA with Japan would exacerbate the imbalance and that such barriers would make it difficult for South Korean goods to sell in Japanese markets even with an FTA, the ambassador said.
While declining to lay down conditions for resuming FTA talks, Shin said working-level consultations are being held over these ''disadvantages'' within the context of what he calls the ''balance of benefits.''
''We at the South Korean Embassy will try to narrow the differences between the two countries and to create an environment in which we have the approval of corporations and the public in South Korea for forging an FTA,'' Shin said.
The negotiations have been suspended due to disagreements between the two parties since November 2004, less than a year after the talks kicked off. Japan, having embraced the promotion of free trade agreements as a pillar of its economic policy, places priority on the resumption of FTA talks with South Korea.
Regarding disputed islands in the Sea of Japan claimed by both Japan and South Korea, called Takeshima in Japanese and Dokdo in Korean, Shin stuck to his government's basic position. ''I hope we can resolve the matter in a direction that will not hamper the long-term development of South Korean-Japanese relations.''
On Japanese TV dramas and pop music, which are still banned from being broadcast on terrestrial TV in South Korea, Shin said, ''I'm thinking that these two remaining areas can also be liberalized at some point in the future.''
Starting in 1998, South Korea, where resentment runs deep against Japan due to its colonization of the Korean Peninsula before and during World War II, has gradually lifted its ban on Japanese popular culture.
==Kyodo