China halts visas for Japan, South Korea in COVID-19 spat

By KEN MORITSUGU
Associated Press

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese embassies stopped issuing new visas for South Koreans and Japanese in apparent retaliation for COVID-19 measures imposed by those countries on travelers from China. It wasn’t clear whether China would expand the visa suspensions to other countries that have imposed virus testing on passengers from China following its COVID-19 surge. The embassies in Tokyo and Seoul announced the suspensions in brief online notices. The Seoul notice said the ban would continue until South Korea lifts its “discriminatory entry measures” against China. China’s Foreign Ministry threatened countermeasures last week against countries that had announced new virus testing requirements. Officials in the countries that did so expressed concern about a lack of information about the Chinese outbreak.