South Korea posted a bigger trade deficit with Japan compared to China during the past two months.

According to the trade ministry on Sunday, the deficit with Japan was the largest after a deficit with the Middle East for the second straight month in July.

In June, South Korea recorded a trade deficit of one-point-78 billion U.S. dollars with Japan, compared to a deficit of one-point-three billion dollars with China.

The following month, the deficit comparison was one-point-53 billion dollars with Japan against one-point-27 billion dollars with China.

The Korea International Trade Association cited the slowing deficit in trade with China amid a rise in semiconductor imports from Japan, as well as the devaluation of the Japanese yen, as factors that led to the increasing deficit with Japan.