Our top story this evening.
Amid the trade spat between Seoul and Tokyo,… South Korean government officials are busy trying to rally the international community to its cause.
The country's trade minister returned from her trip to Washington,… and said her U.S. counterpart had agreed on the severity of Japan's trade curbs and its global impact.
Our Lee Ji-won starts us off.
South Korea's trade minister Yoo Myung-hee completed her 5-day trip to the U.S. Saturday morning,... in an effort to raise awareness on the global impact of Tokyo's trade restrictions on Seoul.
"I met with U.S. economic and trade authorities. The outcome of the trip, I believe, was broadening the thought and understanding that Japan's trade restrictions on South Korea not only affect bilateral ties, but also U.S. industries and the global supply chain as well."
She added that Wilbur Ross, the U.S. Commerce Secretary, agreed on the severity of the fallout,... and that he hinted Washington could play a role in the situation if necessary.
Minister Yoo also conveyed worries being expressed by those in the information technology industry,... that Japan's trade restrictions on South Korea would lead to a delay in product shipments and disrupt the global value chain.
Japan earlier this month announced trade restrictions on South Korea... governing the export of high-tech materials that are used to make semiconductors and displays.
Tokyo's decision comes... after the South Korean Supreme Court ordered Japanese companies last year... to compensate Korean victims of forced labor during the Japanese colonial period.
Minister Yoo is expected to attend the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Ministerial meeting in China's Zhengzhou City early next month.
There, she could once again highlight the discriminatory nature of Japan's export controls... and ask for the international community's support.
Meanwhile, Japan could further aggravate the situation... by approving new trade rules to remove South Korea from its "whitelist" of countries that enjoy preferential trade treatment, on August 2nd.
Lee Ji-won, Arirang News.