S. KOREA EXPRESSES REGRET OVER JAPAN

[Anchor Lead]

The South Korean government immediately expressed strong regret over Japan's removal of Korea from its list of trusted trading partners. The presidential office, the prime minister's office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs all condemned Tokyo. Some even said that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe treats Korea as its adversary.

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The South Korean government expressed deep regret and strong protest, and demanded that Japan immediately withdraw its measure to remove Korea from its list of trusted trading partners. Seoul harshly criticized Tokyo for using economic retaliation in response to the court ruling on wartime forced labor, and said that the measure shakes the very foundation of bilateral ties between the two nations. The Korean government also summoned Japanese ambassador Yasumasa Nagamine to express protest.

[Soundbite] YASUMASA NAGAMINE(JAPANESE AMBASSADOR TO S. KOREA) : "(What can you say about Korea's removal from whitelist?) ……."

Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon has vowed to bring the issue before the WTO in order to address Tokyo's illegitimate measure. Later in the afternoon, even the presidential office stepped in. It released an official statement expressing strong regret and criticized the Japanese leadership's brazen remarks. Cheong Wa Dae's statement said that it is actually Japan that is trying to re-write history. This apparently refers to Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono's earlier made remarks that Korea was trying to re-write history. The statement also for the first time mentioned Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

[Soundbite] KIM HYUN-CHONG(DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER) : "Prime Minister Abe said twice recently that he does not trust Korea. He treats Korea like an adversary."

Cheong Wa Dae said that because of damaged trust between the two nations, there is no reason to renew the military intelligence sharing pact with Japan, and that Japan is to blame for undermining the trilateral relations among South Korea, Japan and the U.S. by taking a hostile retaliatory measure. Seoul added it would re-consider its decision to terminate GSOMIA if Tokyo stops trade retaliation.