South Korea and the United States remain far apart on key sticking points in trade negotiations, although some progress has been made, a senior presidential aide said Friday.
The presidential chief of staff for policy, Kim Yong-beom, made the remarks as he and Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan returned home after holding follow-up tariff talks with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in Washington.
Kim did not specify what the sticking points are, but Seoul and Washington have been engaged in intense negotiations to narrow differences over how to implement Seoul’s $350 billion investment pledge to finalize a trade deal.
“There has been some progress on certain issues, but the two sides remain sharply divided over key sticking points, and that situation continues,” the presidential aide told reporters at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul.
The policy chief said time is running out to reach an agreement before the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit next week but vowed to make last-minute efforts to narrow differences with the US side.
“No more time is left for additional face-to-face negotiations as the APEC summit is just around the corner and time is running out. There is still a long way to go if we hope to reach an agreement on that occasion,” Kim said.
“As negotiations can often make rapid progress at the last minute, we will keep working hard until the end,” he added.
The White House said US President Donald Trump will arrive in the southeastern city of Busan on Wednesday for bilateral talks with President Lee Jae Myung the same day, but Korean government sources said that it will be held in in Gyeongju, about 80 kilometers north of Busan. Trump is also scheduled to attend the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting while in Gyeongju.
Asked whether working-level negotiations on the financial package of the investment pledge were nearing completion, Industry Minister Kim said the discussions were “still underway.”
“A few sticking points still remain, and we are now at a very critical juncture,” he said. “We’ll do our best until the very end.” (Yonhap)
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