Tokyo-Seoul trade dispute more dangerous than it seems

The meeting between foreign ministers of Japan and the Republic of Korea, Taro Kono and Kang Kyung-wha, on Thursday on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum failed to ease the Tokyo-Seoul trade conflict, so all eyes are on a trilateral meeting between Kono, Kang and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday.

As the trade friction between Tokyo and Seoul simmers with Japan restricting the export of three materials essential for making semiconductors and liquid-crystal display panels to the ROK, and Tokyo is expected to remove Seoul from its preferential trade list under "national security" grounds, multiple ROK airlines are reportedly planning to suspend some flights between the two countries.

It remains to be seen whether the intensifying trade conflict that threatens to harm the entire semiconductor industrial chain and involves complicated political and economic factors could be resolved under the World Trade Organization's framework even though the ROK has sought to solicit support at the world trade body.