S. Korea urges Russia's efforts to 'manage' bilateral ties

▲ In this file photo, an official points to Belarus on a status board designating South Korea's restrictions on exports of strategic items by country at the Korean Security Agency of Trade and Industry in Seoul on March 7, 2022. The previous day, the South Korean government announced such curbs on Belarus, which is in support of Russia invading Ukraine. (Yonhap)

S Korea-Russia-export ban

S. Korea urges Russia's efforts to 'manage' bilateral ties

SEOUL, Dec. 28 (Yonhap) -- Russia should step up efforts to "manage" bilateral ties with South Korea, a foreign ministry official said Thursday, after Moscow warned it could retaliate against Seoul's export restrictions.

Earlier this week, South Korea said it will tighten export controls against Russia, adding 682 more items, such as heavy construction equipment, rechargeable batteries, aircraft components, machinery and others, to the list of items that are banned from shipping to Russia and Belarus.

In response, Russia's foreign ministry on Wednesday warned of measures in response, saying they may not necessarily be symmetrical ones.

"We would like to remind (Russia) that managing South Korea-Russia relations does not only require effort from our part but also from Russia," the South Korean foreign ministry official told reporters.

He added that the South Korean government had explained about the export restrictions to Russia before announcing the measures.

The new export regulation, expected to take effect in early 2024, will raise the total number of items on the list to 1,159 from the current 798 items.

The move came as chances are high for those items to be used for military purposes, though they are not classified as strategic items under South Korea's export control scheme.

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