Tokyo seeking negotiations with Seoul over court decision to seize Japanese firm's assets

日, 韓법원 징용기업 압류 승인에 양자협의 검토A local court approved South Korean plaintiffs' request to seize a Japanese steelmaker's local assets... after the firm refused to pay compensation for forced labor during World War Two.In response to the decision,... the Tokyo's government is reportedly seeking to resolve the conflict through bilateral negotiations.Park Hee-jun gets us up to speed with the developments. A local court in South Korea has decided to go ahead and allow the seizing of local assets of a Japanese steelmaker,... for failing to respond to the court's order to compensate Korean victims of wartime forced labor.Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corporation holds around 2-point-3-4 million shares, which amount to 9-point-7 million U.S. dollars,... in its joint venture with South Korean steelmaker POSCO.But the Daegu District Court has approved the plaintiffs' request to freeze around 81-thousand of those shares.It will take effect once the court document is delivered to the joint venture.According to Japan-based Kyodo News Agency, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters that the Japanese government is taking the situation seriously,... and that Tokyo seeks to consult with Seoul, based on the 1965 bilateral agreement that normalized ties between the two countries.The agreement requires the two sides to resolve disputes through diplomatic methods.If such bilateral talks take place,... it would be the first time such property claims talks would have happened under the treaty.But if the negotiations do not work,... the treaty calls for an arbitration committee that involves the participation of a third country.If that's not enough,... Japanese broadcaster NHK says the Japanese government could also consider taking the issue to the International Court of Justice.Local media outlets have also reported that Tokyo is reviewing economic responses which could actually strike a blow to Seoul, such as freezing South Korean companies' assets in the country or raising tariffs on South Korean products.Park Hee-jun, Arirang News.