S. Korea-Japan talks on EEZ end without deal

SEOUL, March 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Japan held working-level talks in Seoul Monday on the vague demarcation of their maritime border, but as expected, they produced no tangible deal, Seoul's foreign ministry said.

The meeting, the 10th of its kind, was aimed at clarifying the boundary of their
exclusive economic zones (EEZs) amid Tokyo's continued claim to sovereignty over
Dokdo, a set of South Korean-controlled rocky outcroppings in the East Sea.
"The two nations shared the perception that drawing up the boundary of the EEZs
is important in the establishment of the maritime order in Northeast Asia," the
ministry said in a press release.
The two sides agreed to continue consultations on the issue and hold the next
round in Japan on a date to be set later, it added.
South Korea was represented by Hwang Seung-hyun, head of the foreign ministry's
treaties bureau, and his counterpart was Koji Tsuruoka, director general of
Japanese foreign ministry's international legal affairs bureau.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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