"GSOMIA Termination Postponement Is a Temporary Measure"…Foreign Ministry Reiterates Call for Japan to Withdraw Export Restrictions

South Korean Government Judges Japan's Export Restriction Withdrawal Efforts Insufficient
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha: "We Reserve the Right to Reactivate the Effect of GSOMIA Termination Anytime"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The government has once again urged the withdrawal of Japan's unilateral export restrictions. Our government has been continuously urging the Japanese government to lift the export restrictions, but there has been no significant progress.

On the 12th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "In accordance with the agreement between South Korea and Japan on November 22 last year, we urge the Japanese government to promptly withdraw the export restrictions as soon as possible."

Last July, when the Japanese government unilaterally imposed export restrictions against South Korea, the government notified the termination of the Korea-Japan General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) on August 23. Then, on November 22, one day before the GSOMIA termination, the government suspended the effect of the termination notice on the premise that the agreement could be terminated at any time. A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official emphasized, "We want to remind that the government's action at that time was provisional."

Japan has yet to show active steps toward lifting the export restrictions. Our government has repeatedly emphasized that "time is limited," but Japan has hardly changed its stance. The export control policy dialogue has not been held since December 16 last year. At the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee plenary session in November last year, Cho Se-young, First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, responded to a question about how long the suspension of the GSOMIA termination notice could continue, saying, "If it is on a yearly basis, it is practically an extension," and added, "It would be for a few months."

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha also emphasized at the New Year's press conference on the 6th, "There has been dialogue between export authorities, but it is clear that things have not returned to the state before the export restrictions imposed last July," and added, "We have the right to reactivate the effect of GSOMIA termination at any time and plan to exercise this right based on national interests."

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official stated, "We are responding through close consultation and coordination among related ministries on all diplomatic and security issues."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.