Tokyo confirmed that South Korea will be removed from Japan’s white country list of preferred trading partners from Wednesday as previously alerted despite Seoul’s offer to reconsider its decision to end military intelligence-sharing pact with Tokyo if trade discriminations are dropped.

“We plan to uphold the export control on Korea] in a serious manner,” said Hiroshige Seko, Japan’s minister of economy, trade and industry, in a press conference on Tuesday.

He denied any other design behind the move except that it is a part of “appropriate export control measures.”

Yoshihide Suga, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary also confirmed in a regular briefing on Tuesday that “[the revised export trade management decree] will take effect starting tomorrow.”

The loss of white country status requires more documental complexities – a process that can take up to three months - for shipments bound for Korea. The measure, which was announced earlier this month, came after Japan required case-by-case curbs on three high-tech materials essential for the production of chips and displays if they are headed out to Korea.

Seoul also removed Japan from its own white country list by seeing the action as an economic retaliation against Korea for court decisions ordering Japanese companies to compensate victims of forced labor. Japan maintains the stance that compensation issue has been “completely” settled under the 1965 basic treaty. It also decided to end the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) with Japan.

Korean prime minister Lee Nak-yeon

Korean prime minister however hinted that the decision may be reversed if Tokyo changes its course on trade policy.

Suga told reporters that issues related to GSOMIA and Japan’s “export control management” are completely different ones, practically rejecting Korean Prime Minister’s proposal on Monday calling for Japan to withdraw its “unjust trade measures.”

Japan’s Cabinet approved the plan of taking off Korea from its whitelist of preferred nations on August 2, one month after it imposed tighter export control on three high-tech materials bound for Korea. The revised export trade management decree will take effect on August 28, after 21 days it was promulgated on August 7.

Under new ordinance, all materials the Japanese government deems as having potential to be converted to weapons must receive separate approval for exports to Korea, a procedure that could take maximum three months.

By Chung Wook and Lee Eun-joo

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