Korea, U.S. continue SOFA talks

Korean and U.S. officials met at the Central Government Complex Friday afternoon in a full-dress session of negotiations on the status of American troops stationed in Korea. The meeting was a follow up to the sectoral discussions by experts for the revision of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) held on Thursday and Friday.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) said the full session should iron out by Dec. 7 differences on several contentious points on the basis of an already completed joint draft regarding criminal jurisdiction, while additional efforts will be made to agree on a joint draft on questions related to the environment, labor relations and quarantine.

The two sides remained far apart through the duration of the expert meetings, making prospects of reaching an accord highly uncertain, ministry officials said. The two governments are represented by Song Min-Soon, director general of the North American Affairs Bureau at the ministry, for Korea, and Frederick Smith, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Asian and Pacific Affairs, for the United States.

Boo Hyung-Kwon bookum90@donga.com