WTO 참석 정부 대표단 "화이트리스트로 확대시 日 위반 더 커져"

Our top story this lunchtime...
One of the World Trade Organization's highest decision making bodies is set to discuss Tokyo's export curbs on Seoul,... upon the request of the South Korean government.
Choi Si-young starts us off. South Korea's trade ministry says its deputy minister for multilateral and legal affairs, Kim Seung-ho will attend the meeting that will take place in Geneva on Tuesday.
Arriving in Geneva on Monday evening,... Kim said that the Japanese government is already violating WTO regulations with its export curbs,... and that cutting South Korea from Tokyo's trade white list would further breach the global trade rules.
He stressed he will sternly refute Tokyo's stance at the meeting.
Among many possible arguments, he is likely to refer to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade or "GATT."

Article 11 of the agreement prohibits WTO member countries from putting restrictions on exports.
And Kim will likely argue that the Japan's export curbs violate this provision.

And on Japan's move to take South Korea off its trade white list, the deputy minister can argue that Japan is violating the Most-Favoured-Nation rule aimed at giving equal treatment to all other WTO countries,... a rule guaranteed under paragraph 1 of Article 1 in the trade agreement.

The council, which is made up of representatives of 164 countries, functions as the WTO's top decision making body aside from the ministerial-level conference that's held every two years.
Seoul aims to win other countries' support so it can heighten pressure on Tokyo.

Meanwhile South Korea's trade minister Yoo Myung-hee is visiting Washington this week to meet with U.S. government officials and congressmen.
She is expected to highlight the unfairness of Japan's export restrictions.

It remains to be seen how the international community will react to the remarks made by Seoul and Tokyo during what promises to be a tense council meeting in Geneva.

Choi Si-young, Arirang News.