'Not right time to send envoy to Japan'

South Korea's First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Sei-young, right, speaks with Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee while participating in a ministerial meeting to discuss countermeasures against Japan's export curbs, at the Government Complex in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

By Lee Min-hyung

South Korea's vice foreign minister said Monday “now is not a good time” to send Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon as a special envoy to Japan to resolve the escalating trade feud between the neighboring countries.

“In some cases, sending a special envoy brings very productive and substantial outcomes. That scenario looks feasible but only after interested parties finish narrowing their stark differences at working-level negotiations,” Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-young said in a local radio interview.

Diplomatic discussions are underway and the vice minister stressed sending PM Lee as an envoy to Tokyo would come when relations between the two countries have reached a deadlock without any communication, according to Cho.

Last week, PM Lee was in the spotlight as a possible candidate for the special envoy. But the plan was put on hold after Japanese Minister of Economy Hiroshige Seko said he doesn't see a quick resumption of policy talks with South Korea.

The trade dispute between the two Asian countries is developing into a full-scale diplomatic war after South Korean President Moon Jae-in warned Japan that “any effort” to block Seoul's economic growth “will not succeed.” Tokyo removed Seoul from its list of trusted trading partners receiving preferential trade treatment.

“Japan is showing a rigid response to the issue, so it is tough for us to find a middle ground,” he said. “Japan's trade ministry has yet to respond to our offer for director-level talks.”

But the two countries are still exchanging their positions through diplomatic channels both indirectly and unofficially, even if no clear signs are detected for a settlement in the foreseeable future, according to the vice minister.

He also left open the possibility for Seoul not to renew the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA), a pact between Seoul and Tokyo on sharing military intelligence. The GSOMIA, signed in November 2016, symbolizes their trusted relations regarding sensitive defense affairs.

Both countries have automatically renewed the pact every August to deal with North Korea's lingering military threats. The United States has expressed its hopes that the South and Japan maintain the pact “for the stability and peace in Northeast Asia.”

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is known to have shared Washington's willingness to urge Seoul to renew the pact, during his recent meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Kono Taro last week on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum in Bangkok, according to Japanese local media reports.

“The U.S. is in a position for the two allies to continue fulfilling the pact, but our view is that the agreement cannot be maintained with a counterpart which is not trustworthy and close enough,” Cho said.

The remark is apparently directed at Tokyo's “repeated economic retaliation” against Seoul. Japan announced its decision to remove Korea from its trade “whitelist” and the new measures will take effect on Aug. 28.

“If Japan views the GSOMIA as an important agreement, the country should have never expressed those thoughts or remarks,” Cho said. “How can South Korea keep the military intelligence-sharing pact at a time when Japan has implemented export curbs and retaliatory measures against the South?”

As of now, Seoul hopes to renew the GSOMIA, but the final decision will be made after taking external factors into consideration, he said.