(2nd LD) Japanese party official cancels meeting on trade dispute with S. Korean parliamentary delegation

(ATTN: UPDATES with the delegation's remarks in paras 10-12)

TOKYO, Aug. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korean lawmakers expressed anger Thursday after a leading Japanese politician abruptly canceled a meeting meant to be a forum for discussion of a trade and history row between the two countries.

A group of 10 lawmakers began a two-day visit to Tokyo on Wednesday to help resolve the escalating dispute sparked by Japan's curbs on exports to South Korea of three industrial materials early last month, citing security concerns.

The lawmakers were scheduled to meet Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), on Wednesday afternoon.

But two hours before the planned meeting, Nikai's side requested a postponement of the meeting until the following morning because of a party session.

At night, Fukushiro Nukaga of the LDP, a co-head of the Japan-South Korea Parliamentarians' Union, called his South Korean counterpart, Kang Chang-il of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), to cancel the talks saying he had to preside over an emergency party meeting on North Korea's Wednesday rocket firings.

Kang expressed regret about the "huge diplomatic discourtesy."

"The LDP may have ordered its members to keep silent, but anyway he said Nikai can't meet us because of his busy schedule. I said they should have not committed such a discourtesy and hung up," Kang told a radio talk show.

Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, another member of the delegation, said the cancellation may indicate that Japan's Cabinet will go ahead with its plan to approve a bill Friday to drop South Korea from a list of 27 countries given preferential trade status.

"It is almost certain that Japan will decide to exclude (South Korea) from the whitelist in tomorrow's Cabinet meeting. For Secretary-General Nikai, meeting with us in this situation may be burdensome," he said.

On Wednesday, the delegation had a lunch meeting with 10 Japanese members of the parliamentarians' union, including Nukaga.

"The Korean and Japanese lawmakers shared a view that the two countries' relations are in a very serious state and should not worsen further," the delegation said in a news conference Thursday.

"The two sides urged the governments of the two countries to actively engage in dialogue and act responsibly to resolve problems and prevent ties from worsening."

Later Wednesday, they met Natsuo Yamaguchi, leader of the Komeito party, the LDP's coalition partner, and held a meeting with Korean-Japanese businesspeople.

On Thursday morning, four members of the delegation met Yuichiro Tamaki, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party for the People, asking for the party's cooperation in resolving the dispute diplomatically.

Later in the day, the team had a lunch meeting with South Korean Ambassador to Japan Nam Gwan-pyo and visited Tetsuro Fukuyama, secretary-general of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. The delegation is set to return home Thursday night.

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