Fishing Talks Hit a Snag

South Korean and Japanese officials will meet Friday morning to negotiate fishing by South Korean boats in waters surrounding the South Kuril Islands.

The two sides initially planned to meet Thursday evening, but postponed the meeting due to "scheduling conflicts."

The Japanese side is said to have proposed that South Korea acknowledge the area as Japan's exclusive economic zone and get permission from Tokyo to fish there.

The South Korean government reportedly reviewed the proposal and decided against it.

"We could get unnecessarily embroiled in a territorial dispute over the South Kuril Islands between Russia and Japan," a government official said. The Kurils are currently governed by Russia but claimed by Japan.

The official added, "Consultations between South Korea and Japan over fishing in the waters surrounding the South Kuril Islands, will have to be preceded by deliberation with Russia."

Chung Woo-taik, minister of maritime affairs and fisheries, said Thursday the government will "hold onto a hard-line stance." When the two sides return to the bargaining table Friday, Seoul will reportedly express its intention to resume fishing for saury in the disputed waters on Sunday.

The Asahi Shimbun, a major Japanese daily, reported Thursday that the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries plans to dispatch three patrol boats to the area and tell the Koreans to stop fishing. But the paper quoted an official of the ministry as saying Japan does not have the right to stop Korea from fishing in international waters.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense said it would put a halt to bilateral military exchanges, including visits by top military brass, in response to Japan's position on the issue of the controversial Japanese middle school history textbooks.

Kim Han-gill, minister of culture and tourism, officially announced Thursday that the government will suspend the further opening of the domestic market to Japanese cultural products.

by Lee Chul-hee