The government will further enforce unilateral sanctions against Russia in response to the U.S. exempting South Korea from its expanded export restrictions, imposed on Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine.

According to the trade ministry on Friday, Seoul will add 49 entities to its blacklist of firms designated by Washington as having links to the Russian military. The list currently includes roughly 300 entries.

Exporting items and technologies to such entities requires state approval similar to the one issued for strategic materials.

This latest move comes after Seoul announced a ban on exports of strategic materials to Russia through a tighter evaluation of export controls.

The U.S. earlier announced an expansion of its Foreign Direct Product Rule(FDPR) for all of Russia, requiring non-American firms manufacturing products that use U.S. technology to seek its approval before exporting to Russia. South Korea was initially not among the 32 countries exempt from the curbs.

South Koreans manufacturers were concerned that the FDPR may adversely impact the nation's key exports, including its semiconductors produced by global manufacturers Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.