S.Korea rejects Japan call for arbitration over wartime labour dispute

South Korea on Friday rejected Japan's call for third-party arbitration over a court ruling last year ordering Japanese companies to pay compensation for using South Korean forced labor during World War Two.

Japan had set Thursday as a deadline for South Korea to accept the proposal in a deepening feud over wartime forced labor, which has led to Tokyo imposing export curbs on high-tech materials to South Korea.

Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono renewed a call for South Korea to take steps to resolve the dispute, telling Seoul's ambassador to Tokyo its position violated international law.