S. Korean industry minister returns after follow-up talks with US over trade deal

Seoul, Sep 14 (IANS) Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan returned home on Sunday after a trip to the United States, where he held follow-up talks with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on the bilateral trade agreement reached in July.

Kim had been in the U.S. since Thursday to iron out differences over the details of the trade agreement under which South Korea pledged to invest US$350 billion in the U.S. in exchange for Washington lowering its "reciprocal" tariffs on South Korea from 25 percent to 15 percent, reports Yonhap news agency.

Kim and Lutnick met at an undisclosed location in New York, but it remains unclear whether they made any significant progress.

Upon arriving at Incheon International Airport, the country's main gateway west of Seoul, early Sunday morning, Kim declined to answer reporters' questions about the outcome of the negotiations.

The trade agreement was initially concluded in July and reaffirmed in broad terms during last month's summit in Washington between President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Details of the investment plan remain undecided, however, with South Korea's presidential chief of staff for policy, Kim Yong-bum, recently saying the two sides are at an "impasse."

Earlier, Kim and Lutnick met in New York to hold follow-up talks on the two countries' trade deal reached in July.

Lutnick said in a CNBC interview last week that Seoul should either accept the bilateral framework trade deal from July or pay 25 percent tariffs.

South Korea's presidential office said the next day that national interest will remain the top priority.

"As President Lee Jae Myung said ... (we) will not take part in negotiations that veer from rationality and fairness," a presidential official said.

—IANS

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