Korea is strictly enforcing its export controls on Russia, the foreign ministry said Thursday, stressing that no exports of commercial petroleum products to Russia have been confirmed through customs clearance procedures. Currently, Korea prohibits exports of strategic items to Russia and subjects an additional 1,402 non-strategic items that could potentially be used for military purposes to case-by-case export authorization, according to the ministry. "The controlled items are determined through interagency discussions after comprehensively considering their potential military use, economic impact and international coordination," the ministry said in an explanatory note jointly issued by the industry ministry and the customs agency. Outbound shipments to Russia dropped to $4 billion in 2025 from $10 billion in 2021 as South Korea joined international efforts to maintain peace through export controls "despite the economic burden on companies and the public," the ministry noted. The comments came after a report by the Britain-based Guardian on Tuesday that more than 176,000 tons of petrol