During a meeting with her Japanese counterpart on the sidelines of a global summit on Friday, South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha said Tokyo's decision was regrettable and demanded that Tokyo "immediately cancel the unjust export restriction measures, "according to a statement from the South Korea's Foreign Ministry.
South Korea's rulling Democratic Party called Japan's decision an "all-out declaration of economic war on our country" in a tweet from its official account, and added that South Korea-Japan relations are in "crisis."