Aug 21, 2019 (aljazeera.com) - Japan has approved shipments of a high-tech material to South Korea for the second time since imposing export curbs last month, two sources told Reuters news agency, ahead of talks between government officials this week to resolve a bitter dispute stemming from their wartime past.
Relations between the two US allies worsened late last year when a South Korean court ordered Japanese companies to compensate some of their former labourers forced by the firms to work during World War II.
In early July, Japan tightened controls on shipments to South Korea of three materials used in chips and displays, threatening to disrupt the global tech supply chain. Japan also announced a plan to revoke South Korea's fast-track export status from later this month.
The material cleared by Japan for export to Samsung Electronics Co Ltd in South Korea is photoresists, which are crucial for the tech giant's advanced contract chipmaking production, people who were familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
Japan's latest move comes ahead of a meeting between Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and his South Korean counterpart, Kang Kyung-wha, in Beijing on Wednesday.
