116. The representative of Korea said that his delegation had not heard any convincing argument that there existed a conflict between the TRIPS Agreement and the CBD which necessitated an amendment to the TRIPS Agreement in order to address the CBD goals. Therefore, Korea still remained of the view that the TRIPS Agreement and the CBD could be implemented on their own. He said that the discussion on this issue had not been exhausted in terms of substantive and technical elements. It was impossible to move on to the protection of traditional knowledge and folklore before Members reached consensus on their definition and scope. He said that it would be meaningful for the Council to await the outcome of related discussions in WIPO. He also expressed his delegation's concern over the linkage between the three TRIPS issues. He said that the so-called parallelism would make it complicated to find solutions in this situation of stalled negotiations, and that each issue should be discussed on its own merits. He fully supported the statements made by Japan, the United States and New Zealand. His delegation stood ready to engage in technical discussions on the CBD/TRIPS issue in the future.
