S. Korea to tighten export controls on Russia, Belarus

South Korea plans to tighten export controls on Russia and Belarus for items that can potentially be used for military purposes, the trade ministry said Monday. The announcement came after South Korea added 682 items with actual or potential military use to the list of items to be banned from shipping to Russia and Belarus last week. "The ministry will bolster the implementation of export controls under ties with related organizations, as there will be more attempts to dodge export controls and seek evasive shipments," the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said in a statement. The ministry will especially focus on monitoring exports of "common high priority items," including chips that can be applied to drones, with other partner nations, it added. South Korea will make efforts to inform exporters about the updated list of controlled products to prevent unauthorized exports resulting from a lack of awareness, the ministry said. The new rule, meanwhile, raised the total number of items on the list t o 1,159. On the previous day, the government also said it is investigating a South Korea-based company sanctioned by the United States over its alleged connection to Russia. Daesung International Trading, a company located in South Korea's southeastern city of Gimhae, was one of 93 entities added to an "entity list" for export restrictions by the Bureau of Industry and Security under the U.S. Commerce Department on Friday. Source: Yonhap News Agency