Moon has described Japan’s moves to downgrade
South Korea’s trade status and tighten controls
on exports to South Korean manufacturers as
a deliberate attempt to damage his country’s
export-dependent economy. He has accused
Tokyo of weaponizing trade to retaliate over
political disputes surrounding the countries’ bitter
wartime history.
Tokyo says its measures are based on national
security concerns and, without providing
specific evidence, has questioned the credibility
of South Korea’s export controls on sensitive
products. Japanese officials have also claimed
that South Korea could not be trusted to
faithfully implement sanctions against North
Korea and suggested that the South may have
allowed sensitive materials to reach the North.
North Korea and Japan didn’t immediately
respond to Moon’s comments. The North has
been demanding that Seoul turn away from
Washington and restart inter-Korean economic
projects held back by U.S.-led sanctions
against the North. The U.S. has said the
sanctions should stay in place until the North
takes concrete steps to relinquish its nuclear
weapons and ballistic missiles.
The North has significantly reduced its
diplomatic activity with the South amid a
stalemate in the larger nuclear negotiations with
the U.S. It has been ramping up its weapons
tests, including two test firings of what it
described as a new rocket artillery system last
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