Meanwhile, the South Korean government is expected to continue its diplomatic efforts to prevent further export curbs by Japan.
It will continue trying to communicate with Tokyo and it will bring up the issue at the World Trade Organisation in the coming week.
Yoon Jung-min has the details.
The Japanese government is soliciting opinion from the public until this coming Wednesday... before it decides whether or not to take South Korea off of its whitelist of trading partners.
And in the coming week, the Korean government is going to take every step it can, diplomatically, to prevent Japan from doing that.
Government sources said Sunday that the Korean trade ministry will submit an opinion to its Japanese counterpart on Monday or Tuesday... explaining that the export restrictions Japan recently enacted are unfair, as is the plan to take Korea off the whitelist. The statement will call on Japan to take back the restrictions.
The ministry had asked Japan to engage in high-level talks before July 24th, the last day Japan is accepting feedback, but it now seems that a response is unlikely.
In the meantime, South Korea plans to bring up the issue at the WTO's general council meeting on July 23rd and 24th in Geneva.
The government will send an official to fully explain the situation and make Korea's case to the international community.
Meanwhile, the U.S. is sending national security adviser John Bolton to Seoul and Tokyo to continue conversations with America's key allies in Asia. Sources say Bolton is expected to arrive in Seoul on Tuesday.
Japan will hold a cabinet meeting at some point to decide whether to take Korea off the whitelist or not, but that meeting has not been set.
If the Cabinet does take Korea odd the list, the decision will take effect three weeks from then.
Yoon Jung-min, Arirang News.
