Japan may take a dispute with South Korea over wartime labour to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), after Seoul ignored its deadline yesterday for third-country arbitration.

This is the latest development in a widening chasm between the two neighbours which have long wrangled over historical issues but are now entangled in a trade spat that has threatened to deal a serious blow to the South Korean economy.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in yesterday held a meeting with opposition leaders, vowing to work across party lines to find a way out of the bilateral dispute.

The spat has raised anti-Japanese sentiment in South Korea with an ongoing boycott movement. In Japan, however, Korean culture continues to be popular.

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