SEOUL, May 6 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's trade deficit with Japanhas risen sharply this year due to expanding domestic demand for Japanese autos, steel and precision chemical products, said a government report on Tuesday.
According to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, South Korea's deficit with Japan topped 10.28 billion U.S. dollars from January to April 20 of this year, 1.04 billion U.S. dollars more than the 9.24 billion U.S. dollar trade deficit for the same period in 2007.
"In particular, while South Korean cars are unable to find customers in Japan, the country imported 53 million U.S. dollars worth of Japanese autos in the cited period or a gain of 33.4 percent from 2007," said a government official.
He said steel and precision chemical imports soared 29.2 percent and 33.4 percent compared to the same four month period last year.
