Japan, China, S. Korea Agree to expand farm trade

JEJU, South Korea -- Japan, China and South Korea agreed on Sunday that the three key East Asian economies will promote their partnership toward expanding farm trade.

At the talks on the South Korean resort island of Jeju, the countries' agricultural ministers also agreed to examine the idea of establishing a framework to jointly prevent foot-and-mouth and other infectious diseases for animals and plans from spreading beyond national boundaries.

This was the first trilateral ministerial talks on farm trade among the three nations, attended by Michihiko Kano from Japan, Han Changfu from China and Suh Kyu Yong from South Korea.

After the meeting, the ministers released a joint statement at a press conference.

The statement says the group will promote farm trade through their economic partnership while aiming to achieve sustainable agriculture, and study a joint framework to control and prevent infectious diseases for animals and plants.

The ministers also agreed to share information and jointly conduct research on food security, strengthen the three countries' cooperation both at international and regional levels, and join forces for disaster prevention and recovery of disaster-damaged agricultural production, according to the statement.

The talks confirmed the three nations' solidarity and will to boost their cooperation, Kano said at the news conference. The outcome will be reported to a meeting of the top Japanese, Chinese and South Korean leaders slated for May, he added.

South Korea's Suh said the three countries can deepen their economic partnership.

But none of the ministers spoke about the pending issue of whether to conclude a trilateral free trade agreement at the press conference.

At their separate talks on Saturday, Kano and Han expressed willingness to launch FTA negotiations soon while Suh noted Seoul's cautious stance.

The three-way agricultural meeting will be held annually. Japan will host the next meeting.

The next meeting will focus on specific measures to materialize ideas agreed on at the first meeting, Kano said.