Seoul (AFP)
South Korea announced on Wednesday that it will lodge a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO) about Tokyo's restrictions on South Korean exports in a context of tensions between the two Asian neighbors.
Seoul and Tokyo have been plagued by a diplomatic and commercial dispute since Japan decided to increase controls for three chemicals needed, among other things, to make smartphones and televisions.
These measures were adopted after South Korean courts demanded Japanese companies to compensate South Koreans forced to work in their factories during the Japanese occupation.
The two countries have struck each other off the list of trading partners. South Korea has also terminated a military intelligence sharing agreement with Japan.
"The restriction of deliveries of three chemicals is motivated by a decision of the Supreme Court on the issue of forced labor," said Commerce Minister Yoo Myung-hee Wednesday at a press conference.
"Targeting South Korea is contrary to WTO principles prohibiting discriminatory practices," she said.
As South Korea is the world's largest producer of chips and screens, these restrictions on exports of these vital chemicals pose "great uncertainty" to the international economy, she said.
Yoo said that South Korea will first ask the WTO to establish a bilateral dialogue to try to solve this problem.
Tokyo has justified these measures with "a loss of confidence" towards Seoul, also accusing its neighbor of having mismanaged sensitive materials imported from Japan.
For South Korea, this is retaliation in response to a historic conflict.
The two countries are allies of the United States, and face the increasingly aggressive policy of China and the threat posed by North Korea for a long time.
© 2019 AFP