It was the first such meeting since new governments took office in both countries. With trade and exchanges expected to expand, the two sides discussed key issues and explored forward-looking cooperation, the agency said.
They shared the view that joint efforts are needed to facilitate bilateral trade and respond to economic security threats as uncertainty grows in the global trade environment, including the spread of protectionism and rising supply-chain instability.
The two sides discussed the smooth implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, boosting cross-border e-commerce, strengthening cooperation to protect intellectual property rights, expanding economic security cooperation and promoting exchanges among regional customs offices.
They agreed to begin technical talks on developing a system to exchange certificates of origin electronically for applying RCEP. To address a surge in e-commerce shipments, they also decided to hold regular meetings to discuss logistics facilitation and blocking illegal or harmful goods.
They agreed to actively support the formal rollout of Japan’s maritime simplified customs clearance system, which has been piloted since October last year, and to expand information sharing between customs authorities to strengthen enforcement against goods that infringe intellectual property rights.
“It is meaningful that we can resume discussions with Japan, one of Korea’s major trading partners, on customs and border management,” Lee said. “We will do our utmost to swiftly implement the agreed measures.”
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.