Seoul, Mar 7 (IANS): South Korea will ban exports of strategic items to Belarus starting this week as the former Soviet republic has been supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the finance ministry has said.

The move came after South Korea decided to ban exports to 49 Russian organisations and firms last week, including Russia's defence ministry, Yonhap news agency reported.

Under the measure, a license is required to export or transfer major items to these entities, with limited exceptions.

"As we have concluded that the Republic of Belarus has been effectively supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine, we have decided to implement the export ban on Belarus as well," the Ministry of Economy and Finance said in a statement.

The government announced restrictions against two Belarusian entities, including its defense ministry.

"We will promptly notify the US of the decision and expand our support for South Korean firms and our nationals residing overseas that can potentially be affected by the measure," the statement said.

South Korea's exports to Belarus came to $70 million in 2021, taking up only 0.01 per cent of its total outbound shipments. Imports were estimated at $80 million, also taking up 0.01 per cent.

The ministry also plans to provide legal consulting services to South Korean businesses that can face disputes with Russian counterparts, following the global move to remove Moscow from the SWIFT global payment network.

SWIFT is a high-security network that connects thousands of financial institutions worldwide.