Exactly 100 days have passed since Japan imposed trade curbs on South Korea in July.
And today, the two countries began their consultations at the World Trade Organization in Geneva.
This is the first step of the dispute settlement process at the WTO.
Yoon Jung-min has the details.
Trade officials from Seoul and Tokyo started their meeting at the World Trade Organization in Geneva on Friday at around 10:30 AM local time,... to discuss Japan's export restrictions on South Korea.
The bilateral consultations are the very first step when a trade dispute is brought to the international dispute settlement body,... and the talks are usually carried out at the working-level.
However, given the significance of the matter,... director-generals from the two countries are sitting down for the meeting this time.
The South Korean trade ministry's Director General for Trade Legal Affairs, Chung Hae-kwan is meeting his Japanese counterpart ( )Junichiro Kuroda.
According to South Korean government sources,... third parties, the European Union and Taiwan, have asked to join in the consultations,... but Japan has reportedly rejected such requests.
The EU has pointed out that Japan's export curbs on Korea will affect the global supply chain of goods.
The EU supplies machinery related to chip manufacture to South Korea,... while Taiwan is trading semiconductor materials with Korea.
Seoul and Tokyo are expected to get the results of Friday's consultations on Saturday morning, Korea time.
If the talks do not go well, Seoul is expected to send a formal request to set up a panel at the WTO to make a ruling on the matter.
Back in July, Tokyo imposed export restrictions on South Korea on three high-tech materials, which are crucial for the production of semiconductors and displays.
The South Korean government has been stressing that Japan's export curbs violate WTO rules and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
Yoon Jung-min, Arirang News.