THE Covid-19 pandemic has given South Korea a chance to extend its cooperation with many countries but its relationship with Japan seems to be going backward.
The relations between the two nations, which soured over historical and trade related disputes, have become worse as Japan continues downplaying Korea's quarantine models and South Korea in return opposes humanitarian aid to Japan.
According to a recent Asahi Shimbun report, the Japanese health authority hinted that they will first test the PCR test kits for detecting Covid-19 infections before using possible supplies from South Korea.
The Koreans see this as mistrust in the accuracy of their test kits.
Following the report, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said that the two countries had not discussed cooperation on Covid-19.
The Korea Times said that Korea is also not showing the level of enthusiasm for offering support to Japan as has it has done with other countries.
"Our government is receiving requests from many countries for exports and humanitarian aid regarding our quarantine products.
"For this, we have created a taskforce team at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to support the overseas expansion of goods related to Covid-19," said Yoon Tae-ho, head of the quarantine team at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters.
"But we are not considering support for Japan at this time," he said, adding South Korea decides on support by comprehensively considering various factors such as the level of stock of test kits or other quarantine items in the countries that seek help.
The ministry also said that it had no plans to send masks to Japan despite reports that the South Korean government could consider delivering masks to Japan via the Korean-Japanese community.
Some Koreans have shown negative sentiments toward supporting Japan.
Close to 10 petitions have been posted on the Cheong Wa Dae website claiming it was inappropriate to consider providing masks to Japan, gaining tens of thousands of signatures.
Japan also tightened entry restrictions for travelers from South Korea since early March at the height of infections here.
In response, South Korea also toughened entry rules on travelers entering the country ― temporarily suspending visa waivers for Japanese citizens and strengthening the screening process for new visa issuance.
Last Monday, Japan announced an extension of its entry ban on travelers until the end of May.
The postponement of the Tokyo Olympics is also seen as a major hindrance to improving South Korea-Japan relations.
Before the pandemic, the Tokyo summer Olympics games had been eyed as an occasion for high-level exchanges between the two countries.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited South Korea to take part in the opening ceremony of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games.
During a New Year's press conference, President Moon Jae-in said that a high-level delegation could be sent to the Olympics.
Since the outbreak of the virus, Moon has spoken to 30 heads of states on the phone regarding Covid-19 responses, starting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Feb 2.
US President Donald Trump has called twice asking for South Korea to export test kits.
However, Moon and Abe have not spoken on the phone yet.
Bilateral relations have been strained since October 2018, when South Korea's Supreme Court ruled in favour of surviving Korean victims of forced labor during Japan's 1910 -1945 colonial rule of Korea.
Since then, the two countries have additionally clashed on trade and security issues.