South Korea to return to Japan's 'white list' for exports on July 21

Reuters
Updated ·1 min read
FILE PHOTO: Nishimura Yasutoshi, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), talks during an interview with Reuters in Tokyo

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan will reinstate South Korea to its "white list" for exports with fast-track trade status effective July 21, Japanese trade minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Tuesday, a crucial step for resolving an economic row between the two nations.

Japan lifted export curbs on high-tech materials to South Korea in March as the nations mended ties amid North Korea's repeated missile launches and China's stepping up defence activities.

South Korea's trade ministry welcomed the move as a "complete recovery of trust between the two countries in export control". The ministry also said it would work closely with Tokyo on bilateral and multilateral export control issues in future.

(Reporting by Miho Uranaka in TOKYO, Hyunsu Yim in SEOUL, writing by Kaori KanekoEditing by Chang-Ran Kim)