South Korea said on Friday it deeply regrets accusations by some senior Japanese officials that South Korea did not enforce proper export control and Japan must present clear evidence for its assertion.

South Korea has fully enforced U.N. sanctions on North Korea and international export control regimes on sensitive materials and dual-use technology, Kim You-geun, first deputy chief at the National Security Office, said at a briefing.

South Korea has denied accusations in Japanese media that it had shipped materials that could be used in weapons programs to North Korea, as a diplomatic row intensifies over wartime forced labor that threatens to disrupt the global supply of memory chips.