South Korea Wednesday officially dropped Japan from its “white list” of trusted trade partners, the latest move in a bitter row stemming from Tokyo’s use of forced labour during World War II. Seoul had already warned Tokyo it would reciprocate following a similar move by Japan in late August to downgrade South Korea’s trade status. Local companies shipping strategic goods to Japan would now have to submit more documents and approval would take around 15 days instead of five, Yonhap news agency reported, quoting the South Korean trade ministry.
