SOUTH Korean Trade Minister Hwang Doo-Yun called in Pretoria on Wednesday for closer economic ties with South Africa, saying both countries could benefit from increased bilateral trade. He said South Korea suffered a $450m trade deficit with South Africa last year. In 1999, the deficit was $810m. “Certainly we wish this imbalance to be corrected, although we understand that because of different economies, this phenomenon is rather suggesting the complementary characters of the two countries,” Hwang said. After meeting South African Trade and Industry Minister Alec Erwin earlier Wednesday, Hwang Doo-Yun suggested South Africa send a trade delegation, headed by Erwin, to South Korea. “We want to discuss how South Africa can benefit from our IT (information technology) and telecommunications industries,” he said. Asked about relations with North Korea, Hwang said significant progress in Seoul’s trade with its neighbour had been made since a watershed summit with the Pyongyang government in June last year.