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China, South Korea Set to Sign Fisheries Deal
South Korea and China are on the verge of signing a deal to resolve the thorny issue of conflicting fishing rights in the Yellow Sea, officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of South Korea said Friday.
"The two countries are puting final touches to a fisheries agreement," an official of the ministry told AFP.
"It may be signed at an early date," he said.
The two sides have agreed in principle that China will give up its fishing rights in a special non-fishing zone off South Korea's western coast.
In return, South Korea will stop fishing in waters near the Yangtze River for an unspecified interim period, he said.
Yonhap News Agency said the two countries will hold vice ministerial-level talks next month to wrap up their long negotiations on the agreement, initiated in November 1998.
At that time, the two signed a memorandum of understanding, pledging to respect their own laws which permitted fishing in the special non-fishing zone and in waters near the Yangtze River.
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