The office of President Moon Jae-in accused Japan on Friday of breaching international law with unilateral export restrictions against South Korea, saying it is considering "all options," including a review of a bilateral military information-sharing pact.
Kim Hyun-chong, deputy chief of Cheong Wa Dae's national security office, was countering a statement by Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono that Seoul is not abiding by a 1965 bilateral treaty in violation of international law.
Japan's claim is "simply wrong," Kim told reporters.
"It was Japan that initially violated international law by an illegal act against humanity in the form of forced labor," he said.
He stressed that South Korea's Supreme Court had ruled that the treaty does not cover compensation for Japan's "inhumane crime and infringement on human rights" against Korean victims of its wartime forced labor.
Kim, who serves as deputy national security adviser, said the government can't ignore or discard the court decision in a democratic country with the constitutional division of powers. (Yonhap)