South Korea's exports to Japan declined nearly 12 percent in 2020 from a year earlier due to the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to data from the Korea International Trade Association(KITA) on Tuesday, Seoul's exports to the neighboring country came to 25-point-09 billion U.S. dollars last year, down eleven-point-seven percent from a year earlier. 

With the drop, Japan accounted for four-point-nine percent of South Korea's overall exports in 2020, falling below the five percent level for the first time in three years.

Japan was once South Korea's top export destination, with its share reaching 38-point-five percent in 1973. But Seoul's exports to Tokyo began to fall as its shipments to China soared and the Japanese yen remained weak. 

China was South Korea's top export market as it took up 25-point-eight percent of the country's exports last year, followed by the United States with 14-point-five percent.