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.

Seoul and Tokyo have been embroiled in the trade dispute since July, when Japan tightened export controls on three chemicals essential to key products of South Korean tech companies such as Samsung. Tokyo says its decision was made on national security grounds, but it followed a series of South Korean court rulings ordering Japanese firms to pay for forced labour during World War II. South Koreans have since mounted a widespread boycott of Japanese goods, including beer, cosmetic products and cars, among others.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019