Anchor: Japan is expected to remove South Korea from a so-called whitelist of countries that enjoy streamlined bilateral trade relations. If the proposal is approved at an August 2 Cabinet meeting in Tokyo, around one-thousand types of goods shipped to South Korea will likely be delayed or disrupted due to licensing and other requirements.
Celina Yoon has more.

Report: Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun daily reported on Friday that the Japanese government is planning to revise an export control ordinance at a Cabinet meeting next Friday.

The revision includes removing South Korea from a "whitelist" of 27 countries that can import strategic goods from Japan for a 36-month period with just a single approval.

If and when South Korea is delisted, most Japanese exporters will need to secure individual permits for every shipment to South Korea, potentially delaying or disrupting the supply of nearly all exports to the peninsula.

If the revision is approved at the Cabinet meeting, it will likely take effect after 21 days, or around late August, after securing the signatures of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Trade Minister Hiroshige Seko. 

The move follows the gathering of public opinion on the proposed delisting from July 1 to 24. Yomiuri Shimbun reported that over 90 percent of the 30-thousand or so submissions gathered were in favor of the revision.

Earlier this month, Japan introduced export restrictions on three high-tech materials to South Korea that are crucial for the production of semiconductors and displays. 

The July 4 move, and next week's anticipated follow-up, is widely presumed to be retaliation for South Korean Supreme Court rulings last year ordering some Japanese firms to provide reparations to wartime forced labor victims. 

Tokyo, however, says its trade restrictions are rooted in security concerns stemming from impaired trust with Seoul. South Korea rejects this characterization of the issue as "groundless."

Despite repeated calls to resolve the trade row diplomatically, Japan continues to reject South Korea's overtures, twice ignoring invitations at a World Trade Organization meeting this week to engage in talks.
Celina Yoon, KBS World Radio News.