The decisions drew condemnation from Japan, which argues the dispute was settled in 1965 when diplomatic ties were normalised between the neighbouring countries. A spokesperson for Samsung said the company was "assessing the current situation" and "reviewing a number of measures to minimise impact on our production". South Korea has demanded stronger apologies and compensation.Only 46 former "comfort women" are still alive in South Korea.The announcement came after Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida met his counterpart Yun Byung-se in Seoul, following moves to speed up talks.Later Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe phoned South Korean President Park Geun-hye to repeat an apology already offered by Mr Kishida. Japan has said this is not punitive. The moves have drawn anger from South Korea, and earlier this month President Moon Jae-in described the situation as an "unprecedented emergency" for his country's economy.

"I don't think there's anyone that believes that the Japanese decision on exports is not related to the desire to 'punish' or 'pressure' South Korea to deal with the court rulings," says Temple University's Mr Dujarric. Another former "comfort woman", 88-year-old Yoo Hee-nam, said: "If I look back, we've lived a life deprived of our basic rights as human beings. Mitsubishi Heavy, one of the firms involved, has reportedly refused to comply with the court order, while two other companies have had their assets seized in South Korea. Striking South Korea from the list would dramatically expand the products that face export restrictions. As the government worked hard to settle deal before the turn of the year, I'd like to follow the government's lead." The longer the dispute drags on, the deeper the potential impact. South Korea plans to take the dispute to the WTO and has argued that other countries could be caught in the crossfire. Mr Russo expects South Korea will be removed from the white list, which could create supply delays, but notes that Japan says "that will not happen". Tokyo may go further by removing Seoul from its so-called "white list" of trusted trading partners. Other women came from China, the Philippines, Indonesia and Taiwan.After the meeting in Seoul, Mr Kishida called the agreement "epoch-making". He says the price of memory components "could significantly increase due to the inability of the other memory suppliers to meet global demand". They say past expressions of regret have been only halfway and insincere. "Japan and South Korea are now entering a new era," Mr Abe told reporters afterwards.

Many analysts have joined South Korea in raising the alarm over the risk the trade spat presents to the global technology supplies. Share this withEmailFacebookMessengerMessengerTwitterPinterestWhatsAppLinkedInCopy this linkThese are external links and will open in a new windowJapan and South Korea have agreed to settle the issue of "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese brothels during World War Two, in their first such deal since 1965.Japan has apologised and will pay 1bn yen ($8.3m, £5.6m) - the amount South Korea asked for - to fund victims.The issue has been the key cause for strained ties. "But we've been waiting all this time for the South Korean government to resolve the issue legally. Negotiators appear to have overcome several obstacles including disagreements over the wording of the agreement and the amount of compensation.

In Japan journalist Nobuo Ikeda reflected the view of many on Twitter that the country had lost out, although others thought the deal could have been worse for Mr Abe. So I can't be fully satisfied.

"The issue goes back 50 years, this is not something that has just landed today. South Korea has fallen into recession as the country reels from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. [It said] this is not going to negatively impact trade," Mike Russo, vice president of global industry advocacy at Semi says. "There are major concerns that such a move would have a grave impact on not only the economies in both countries, but the global supply chain," Lee Ho-hyeon, a director at South Korea's trade ministry said last week. "The ripple effects on the regional electronics supply chains cannot be underestimated," says DBS economist Ma Tieying. The 88-year-old told the BBC: "I wonder whether the talks took place with the victims really in mind. They hope to convince the international community that Japan has violated global trading rules, and the measures should be rescinded. Japan and South Korea agree to settle the issue of "comfort women" forced to work in Japanese brothels during World War Two, in their first such deal since 1965. More from the South Korea is currently the world's second largest producer of semiconductors, according to DBS, while Samsung and LG Electronics hold more than 90% of the global organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screen market. Rajiv Biswas, Asia-Pacific chief economist at IHS Markit, says if Japan's export controls remain in place for a prolonged period it "could disrupt the global electronics supply chain" given South Korea's dominance in the memory chip market. Last year, South Korean court rulings ordering Japanese firms pay compensation to Koreans over forced wartime labour inflamed long-running tensions.