ISTANBUL

Agriculture ministers of South Korea, China, and Japan held a meeting on Monday to discuss a trilateral mechanism in agriculture and farming, the first of its kind after seven years, in the northwestern city of Incheon near Seoul.

The trilateral meeting was joined by Korean Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Song Mi-ryung, Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Shinjiro Koizumi, and Chinese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Han Jun, according to the Korea Times.

The meeting, held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Food Security Ministerial Meeting, came after it was suspended for seven years, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It concerned six main topics: food security, response to animal diseases, sustainable farming, revitalization of rural areas, cooperation on the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems, and international cooperation.

Following the trilateral meeting, the three countries issued a joint statement, urging efforts to expand sustainable growth of the agriculture sector.

After highlighting shared issues, Song said: "I hope that the discussions initiated at this meeting will lead to deeper and more practical cooperation in the future," and agreed to hold regular meetings.

She also met bilaterally with her Japanese counterpart, noting that Korea and Japan can enhance agricultural competitiveness and sustainability through cooperation, given their similar systems and challenges.

Koizumi shared on X that they had “a frank exchange of views,” requested the lifting of import restrictions on Japanese marine products, and discussed food safety.

South Korea banned all seafood imports from the eight Japanese prefectures near Fukushima in 2013, after Tokyo began releasing radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean from its damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant.

The meeting follows Japan's 2015 request for formal adjudication by a World Trade Organization panel regarding South Korea's import restrictions on Japanese marine products.