By Yoon Sojung

The South Korean government on July 12 expressed deep regret over Japanese allegations that South Korean companies violated sanctions against North Korea by making unauthorized exports of strategic materials to the North, and proposed an international probe into Tokyo's suspicions.

Japan claims such exports are why it imposed restrictions on semiconductor material exports to Korea.

In a media briefing at Cheong Wa Dae, Kim You-geun, secretariat of the National Security Council, said, "As a signatory to all of the four international export control systems and other related treaties and guidelines, we've thoroughly controlled strategic materials to guard against their double use and illegal leaks."

"Over the past four years, we've caught approximately 150 attempts to export such materials and made them public, which proves that we've been implementing export controls in a thorough and transparent manner."

Expressing strong regret over high-profile Japanese officials who recently made speculative comments over the allegations without clear proof, Kim said, "The Japanese government must present specific evidence for its claim that the (South) Korean government failed to implement international regulations and other improper acts on this matter."

Kim proposed that Seoul and Tokyo stop "unnecessary arguments" and conduct a "fair investigation" through expert panels of the United Nations Security Council or relevant international organizations to confirm if any violation occurred between both countries in the export controls on the four strategic materials.

"If the probe finds that our government did something wrong, we will apologize for it and immediately apply corrective measures," he said.

"If Seoul is proven innocent, Tokyo must offer an apology and also immediately withdraw its export restrictions."

arete@korea.kr