SEOUL: South Korea said on Wednesday a Japanese plan to remove South Korea from a Japanese list of countries that face minimum trade restrictions would impose tougher conditions without legitimate grounds and consultation.
Japan’s plan to remove South Korea from the so-called white list was a very grave matter that undermined the economic and security partnership between the two countries, South Korea’s industry ministry said in a statement.
It asked Japan to scrap its plan.
Japan threatened last week to drop South Korea from the white list of countries that face minimum trade restrictions under a trade control law.
That would require Japanese exporters to seek a licence for items that could be used in some weapons-related applications.
On Japan’s white list are 27 countries, from Germany to South Korea, Britain and the United States.