Tokyo plans to remove Seoul from ‘export list’

Bloomberg

Japan plans to press ahead with its plan to remove South Korea from a list of trusted export destinations, rebuffing a public effort by the US to calm rising tensions between its two key East Asian allies.
“This is a change in the management of exports that’s necessary for national security,” government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters in Tokyo. “There’s no change in policy and we will calmly proceed with the formalities.”
No date has been announced for the decision on the so-called “white list.” Removal would mean South Korean companies face more cumbersome procedures for importing a wide range of Japanese goods, disrupting manufacturing beyond the region. Suga’s comments came after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he would meet with the foreign ministers of both countries.