South Korea blasts Japan over virus entry restrictions
Kim Tong-Hyung | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 8 months AGO
South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, right, meets with Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Koji Tomita at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, March 6, 2020. Seoul expressed "extreme regret" Friday over Japan's ordering 14-day quarantines on all visitors from South Korea due to a surge in viral infections and warned of retaliation if Tokyo doesn't withdraw the restrictions. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, Pool)
Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Koji Tomita, left, listens to South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha during a meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, March 6, 2020. Seoul expressed "extreme regret" Friday over Japan's ordering 14-day quarantines on all visitors from South Korea due to a surge in viral infections and warned of retaliation if Tokyo doesn't withdraw the restrictions. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, Pool)
Japan Airlines' notice is placed at Gimpo Airport in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, March 5, 2020. People around the world girded for months of disruptions from the new virus Thursday as its unrelenting spread brought ballooning infections, economic fallout and sweeping containment measures. (Sun Myung-geon/Yonhap via AP)
South Korean Prime Minister Chung Se-kyun, left top, speaks during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters at the government complex in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, March 6, 2020. Chung has criticized Japan's 14-day quarantine on all visitors from South Korea due to its viral outbreak, demanding that Tokyo immediately withdraw the "excessive and irrational measures." (Kim Seung-doo/Yonhap via AP)
South Korean Prime Minister Chung Se-kyun speaks during a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters at the government complex in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, March 6, 2020. Chung has criticized Japan's 14-day quarantine on all visitors from South Korea due to its viral outbreak, demanding that Tokyo immediately withdraw the "excessive and irrational measures." (Kim Seung-doo/Yonhap via AP)
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, second from right, speaks during a meeting on countermeasures against the new coronavirus infections at his official residence in Tokyo Thursday, March 5, 2020. Abe said visitors from China and South Korea would need to complete a two-week quarantine at a government facility and be barred from public transit. (Yukie Nishizawa/Kyodo News via AP)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Seoul expressed “extreme regret” that Japan will quarantine all visitors from South Korea due to its surging viral outbreak and warned Friday of retaliation if Tokyo doesn’t withdraw the restrictions.
The 14-day quarantines announced by Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also will apply to visitors from China. Officials at South Korea's national security council meeting criticized Japan for enforcing the restrictions without consulting on them first.
South Korean Prime Minister Chung Se-kyun said the move amounted to a full entry ban. “(We) consider this as very regrettable and demand the excessive and irrational measure to be immediately withdrawn.”
Relations between South Korea and Japan last year sank to their lowest point in decades as they feuded over trade issues, wartime history and military cooperation.
South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa summoned Japanese Ambassador Koji Tomita to protest Japan’s move and described it as "unscientific," citing progress in the country's quarantine efforts.
South Korea has confirmed more than 6,000 cases of infection with the new coronavirus, but its numbers of new cases have been declining in recent days.
Tomita replied that Japan was facing a “critical period” that would determine whether it successfully stems the spread of the virus. Japan counts more than 1,000 cases, including about 700 from a cruise ship.
The possible countermeasures South Korea will consider include designating Japan as a risk area for infectious diseases and placing its own restrictions on travelers from Japan. However, South Korea has not taken any tit-for-tat steps against more than 90 other countries that banned or restricted visitors from the country.