Japan-South Korea discuss export control policy and diversions to ‘countries of concern’
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (‘MEDI’) held three days of talks with South Korea on export control policy, in which Tokyo said it reviewed ‘the effectiveness’ of Seoul’s trade regulations, including indirect exports to countries like North Korea.
‘In this policy dialogue, METI reviewed the current state of operation of the list control and the catch-all control and the effectiveness thereof on site in the ROK,’ the ministry said regarding the talks, held 18-20 April.
‘In addition, METI focused on confirming the status and effectiveness of measures to prevent indirect exports to countries of concern, including North Korea,’ the ministry said in a press release in Tokyo.
Japan’s ‘list control’ regulates arms and dual-use items that can be diverted to military use and its ‘catch-all control’ is for all items except those subject to the list control. For example, products such as timber are subject to catch-all controls if they appear to be related to any kind of military use.
Tokyo and Seoul, both staunch US allies, have been working on closing the gap in their trade ties, especially in hi-tech areas such as semiconductors, as Washington presses on in its tech war with China.
Last week, Japan officially lifted export controls on South Korea that had banned three materials used to manufacture semiconductors and displays, but stopped short of returning Seoul to its trade ‘white list.’
In 2019, Japan removed South Korea from a list of nations entitled to simplified export control procedures, citing some deficiencies in the country’s trade control system.
