Seoul:Seoul summons Japan's ambassador to protest over "irrational" plans to impose coronavirus quarantine on arrivals from South Korea, accusing Tokyo of 'ulterior motives'.
The two countries have close economic ties and are both major US allies, democracies and market economies faced with a rising China and nuclear-armed North Korea.
But their relationship continues to be heavily affected by Japan's colonial rule of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945 -- a dispute that escalated into a trade and security row last year.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday announced that foreign arrivals who have recently been in China or South Korea would be required to spend 14 days in quarantine. Seoul's foreign ministry urged Tokyo to reconsider the "irrational and overbearing" measure in a statement, saying it would summon the ambassador to protest.
"We can't help but question whether Japan has other motives than containing the outbreak," it added. Seoul could take countermeasures, it signalled, saying it was exploring "all possible options" to ensure the safety of South Koreans.