Nippon Steel gets asset seizure notice from South Korea court

FILE PHOTO: Lawyers and activists hold photos of South Korean plaintiffs who were forced to work for a Japanese firm during World War Two as they visit Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp's headquarters building in Tokyo, Japan in this photo taken by Kyodo November 12, 2018. Mandatory credit Kyodo/via REUTERS/Files

TOKYO (Reuters) - Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp said on Wednesday that its joint venture in South Korea had received notice from a court there that some of the venture's assets would be seized.

A South Korean court on Tuesday approved a request by plaintiffs in a wartime forced labour case to seize part of the Japanese company's local assets, Yonhap News reported.

The Japanese government said earlier on Wednesday that it would seek talks with South Korea about the issue.

(Reporting by Chris Gallagher and Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Tom Hogue)