South Korean political parties back Moon in Japan trade row

Setting aside their usual bickering, South Korean liberal and conservative parties on Thursday vowed to cooperate to help the Seoul government prevail in an escalating trade row with Japan.

After a meeting between the parties' leaders and South Korean President Moon Jae-in at Seoul's presidential office, they announced plans to create a "pan-national" emergency body to respond to tighter Japanese trade controls on certain technology exports to South Korea.

The meeting came amid growing concerns in South Korea that Japan's trade curbs, which could possibly be expanded to hundreds of trade items in coming weeks, would rattle its export-dependent economy.

South Korean political leaders urged Japan to immediately withdraw the measures they described as "unjust economic retaliation" that would seriously harm bilateral relations and cooperation.

The leaders of conservative parties also called for Moon to take more aggressive diplomatic steps, such as pushing for a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe or sending a special envoy to Japan.

Earlier on Thursday, South Korea's central bank lowered its policy rate for the first time in three years to combat a faltering economy that faces further risks created by the trade row with Japan.

"Japan's export restriction measures are an unjust economic retaliation that violates the order of free trade and seriously damages friendly and mutually beneficial relationships between South Korea and Japan," the South Korean parties and presidential Blue House said in a joint statement after the meeting.

Moon during the meeting said that a united front between the government and political parties would "send a good message to Japan and increase the negotiation leverage of our government and companies."
"Core issues should be resolved between the leaders of both countries ... I think the president should solve this with a top-down approach."