A South Korean delegation on Monday departed for Switzerland for a second round of talks with Japan at the World Trade Organization(WTO) regarding a dispute over Japanese export restrictions. 

Chung Hae-kwan, director-general of multilateral and legal affairs at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, will sit down for the discussion with his Japanese counterpart Junichiro Kuroda on Tuesday in Geneva.

Departing for the trip, Chung told reporters that if Japan fails to actively engage in the planned negotiations, South Korea will have to consider and push for the next step of the WTO dispute settlement process, which is the establishment of a related panel to look further into the case.

In September, South Korea filed a complaint with the world trade body arguing that Japan's export curbs on three high-tech materials to South Korea are inconsistent with its obligations under various WTO agreements. 

If the two sides fail to narrow their differences within 60 days of the complaint, they can request that the WTO Dispute Settlement Body establish a panel.

Chung also said that Japan's recent approval of the export of liquid hydrogen fluoride to South Korea will not affect the planned talks, as Seoul filed the complaint in order to make Japan withdraw its export restrictions. 

He said that the principle issue in the dispute is Tokyo's trade curbs, adding a couple of export approvals are irrelevant to the dispute.