Lee, Aso call for early conclusion of Korea-Japan FTA

TOKYO, June 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Japanese
Prime Minister Taro Aso on Sunday called for the early conclusion of a free trade
agreement (FTA) between their countries, hoping increased cooperation will help
them overcome the current global economic crisis.
"A Korea-Japan FTA and cooperation in the small- and-medium-sized business sector
are the two forces that will pull the economic development of both countries,"
Aso said in a joint economic forum with Lee, attended by some 20 business leaders
from each of the two countries.
The South Korean president, who was in Tokyo on a one-day trip for a summit with
Japan's leader, said signing the FTA would be a "natural development" that could
come sooner than expected if both sides better understood each other's needs.
"I believe our countries need to understand and consider what the other side is
concerned about to conclude FTA negotiations at an early date," President Lee was
quoted as saying by his spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye.
The FTA, if signed, will be one of the largest entered into by South Korea, the
world's 13th largest economy. Trade with Japan already tops US$82 billion worth
of goods and services annually.
Lee said Japan needed to increase its investment in Korea as his country records
an average trade deficit of nearly $30 billion annually with Japan.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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