SEOUL, Feb 28 (Reuters) - South Korea will tighten export controls against Russia by banning shipments of strategic items and join Western countries' moves to block some Russian banks from the SWIFT international payments system, Seoul's foreign ministry said on Monday.
"The Korean government condemned Russia's armed invasion of Ukraine and, as a responsible member of the international community, decided to actively participate in the international community's efforts, including economic sanctions, for a peaceful resolution of the situation," the ministry said in a statement.
Among the strategic items that could be controlled are supplies of electronics, semiconductors, computers, information and communications, sensors and lasers, navigation and avionics, and marine and aerospace equipment.
Shortly after the announcement, Russia's Ambassador to South Korea Andrey Kulik expressed regret, blaming "strong outside pressure" on Seoul from the United States its western partners to join them in applying sanctions.
He called Moscow's actions in Ukraine a "special operation" aimed at defending Russia from those western forces trying to use Ukraine "as a tool" to mount military threats.
Two leading banks in South Korea confirmed on Monday that while they haven't yet received specific guidelines from SWIFT, or the member-owned cooperative for interbank payment system, they stopped trade financing with at least seven Russian banks...
