TOKYO (REUTERS) – Japan is engaged in dialogue with South Korea on export controls, the Japanese trade minister said on Tuesday (June 2), declining to elaborate on Seoul’s request for Tokyo to remove restrictions on exports of technological materials.

South Korea had asked Japan to clarify its stance on the export controls by the end of May, but Japan has declined to comment on its steps.

“It’s not appropriate to comment on the dialogue with South Korea or what they plan to do,” Trade Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama told a regular news conference.

Japan imposed curbs on exports to South Korea of three materials used to make semiconductors in July last year, threatening a pillar of the South Korean economy and the global supply chain of chips.

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