China will resume issuing short-term visas for South Koreans after Seoul restarted its short-term visa program for Chinese nationals in light of a slowdown in the neighboring country's COVID-19 spread.

On its social media account on Wednesday, the Chinese Embassy in Seoul said the visa issuance will resume on Saturday, four days after Seoul made the equivalent move for Chinese travelers.

Beijing had suspended its short-term visa program for South Koreans on January 10 in apparent retaliation for Seoul’s decision eight days earlier to pause short-term entry and require PCR tests be taken 48 hours prior to departure and after entering for travelers from China.

China then excluded South Koreans from a program allowing travelers with a layover in China to stay for either three or six days, before also requiring post-entry testing for South Korean arrivals after Seoul extended its travel policies late last month.