The World Trade Organization is expected to side with Japan in a complaint filed against Korea for banning seafood imports from Fukushima after the nuclear plant meltdown there.

The WTO already found in favor of Japan in a first ruling in February of 2018, but Korea appealed. diplomatic source in Seoul said the WTO set April 11 as the final ruling date and added, "There is a strong chance of Korea losing."

If it does lose, Korea has three to 15 months before it has to lift the ban. The ruling would add to conflict between the scrappy neighbors, which are already at loggerheads over a mountain of historical issues and a recent spat over flybys by Japanese surveillance aircraft.

Japanese media reported that Tokyo is considering slapping punitive tariffs on Korean exports if Korean victims of forced labor by imperial Japan move to sell seized assets of Japanese businesses in Korea.

