South Korea riled by Japan's virus quarantine rules

South Koreans evacuated from Wuhan, the epicentre of the Covid-19 epidemic in China, disembark from a chartered flight at Gimpo Airport in Seoul, South Korea on Jan 31, 2020, South Korea now records one of the largest number of infections outside China. - AP

SEOUL (AFP): Seoul will summon Japan's ambassador to protest over 'irrational' plans to impose coronavirus quarantine on arrivals from South Korea, it said Friday (March 6), accusing Tokyo of ulterior motives.

The two countries have close economic ties and are both major US allies, democracies and market economies faced with a rising China and nuclear-armed North Korea.