S. Korea says ‘broad’ discussions held with Japan on continental shelf development

South Korea had “broad discussions” with Japan on Friday on a bilateral agreement on jointly developing an underwater continental shelf believed to hold large deposits of oil and other natural resources, Seoul officials said.

The two countries resumed the working-level talks on the Agreement on the Joint Development Zone (JDZ) in Tokyo for the first time in 39 years, amid growing speculation that Japan might be considering terminating the 1978 deal before its 50-year term expires in June 2028.

South Korea and Japan signed the JDZ agreement in 1974 to pursue the joint exploitation of the “Block 7″ continental shelf in the East China Sea, based on geological analyses suggesting the continental shelf may hold significant reserves of oil, gas and other minerals.

The agreement came into effect four years later.

They held five rounds of talks but Japan became lukewarm about moving forward with the agreement, including choosing mining companies for the exploration, after a new international treaty on maritime activities adopted criteria that favored Japan in determining continental shelf boundaries.

The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which came into force in 1994, recognized the jurisdiction of the continental shelf by distance, a theory that puts most of the JDZ area under Japan’s exclusive economic zone.

Prior to the introduction of the UNCLOS, the concept of a continental shelf as an extension of land territory was more widely accepted in international law.

The joint committee “had broad discussions on matters concerning the implementation of the JDZ agreement,” the foreign ministry in Seoul said in a brief press release, without providing more details.

The South Korean government plans to continue negotiations with Japan over the agreement, it said.

The fresh sixth round of JDZ talks were led by Hwang Jun-shik, director general for international legal affairs of the South Korean foreign ministry, and Akihiro Okochi, deputy director general for Asian and Oceanian affairs at Japan’s foreign ministry, and officials from the two countries’ industry ministries.

The JDZ covers the Block 7 and adjacent waters south of Jeju Island and west of Japan’s Kyushu Island, covering an area of 82,557 square kilometers.

The issue drew fresh attention earlier this year after Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa hinted during a parliamentary session in February at the possibility of Tokyo initiating a renegotiation with Seoul when the agreement expires.

The JDZ agreement is valid until June 2028, but either side can notify the other of an intent to terminate it three years before the expiration date.

Officials in both Seoul and Tokyo have stressed that termination or extension of the agreement will not be on the agenda at Friday’s talks.