Parties slam Japan's easing of export curbs as 'insufficient,' call for full removal

Democratic Party spokesperson Hong Ihk-pyo. News1

Ruling and opposition parties on Saturday slammed Japan's recent easing of its export curbs on South Korea as "insufficient," calling for their full removal.

A day earlier, Japan lifted its ban on exports of a chip material to South Korea, one of the three export items Japan embargoed in July amid the countries' diplomatic row over historical issues.

The decision ― one of the first tangible steps toward easing Japan's export controls, which also include the removal of Seoul from a list of trusted export partners ― came just four days before planned one-on-one talks between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu.

Issuing its response to the decision, the ruling Democratic Parties' spokesperson, Rep. Hong Ihk-pyo said, "The latest decision is a step in the right direction, as the Abe government expressed its willingness for dialogue, but it falls short of being a fundamental solution."

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Hong continued, "The Abe government should keep in mind that only the (full) removal of the export curbs would constitute the first step for normalization of the South Korea-Japan relationship." The spokesperson urged the Japanese prime minister to be sincere in the upcoming summit with the South Korean president.

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party said the step, although positive, falls short of solving the fundamental cause of the bilateral row, referring to the countries' unsettled issue of Japan's use of forced Korean labor during its 1910-45 colonial control of the peninsula.

"Cheong Wa Dae and the government need to keep cool-headed and pursue all-out efforts for the full removal of the export restrictions," main opposition party spokesperson Lee Chang-soo said.

The minor conservative opposition Bareunmirae Party said it suspects the latest Japanese step of having the intention of "taming" South Korea ahead of the summit.

"Fundamental solutions to remove the export restrictions should be produced in the upcoming summit," the party's spokesperson, Kim Jeong-hwa, said. (Yonhap)

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