Korean Air has announced it is reducing the frequency of its operation in Japanese routes amid tensions between South Korea and Japan.

The South Korea flag carrier said in a statement that it will suspend its Busan-Osaka Kansai route (14 flights a week) from September 16, Jeju-Tokyo Narita (3 flights a week) and Jeju- Kansai (4 flights a week) from November 1.

The airline will also temporarily suspend its Seoul Incheon-Komatsu (3 flights a week) and

Incheon-Kagoshima (3 flights a week) operations from September 29 to November 16, and its Incheon-Asahikawa (5 flights a week) from September 29 to October 26.

The Seoul-based carrier will also reduce the frequency of its other flights operating between South Korea and Japan. 

The airline said it will lessen its Incheon-Osaka and Incheon-Fukuoka routes from 28 flights a week to 21 flights between October 27 and November 16.

The frequency of Incheon-Okinawa will also be reduced from seven to four flights a week, as well as its Busan-Narita and Busan-Fukuoka flights from 14 to seven flights a week, between September 29 and November 16.

The airline said in the meantime, it will increase the frequency of routes in Southeast Asia, Oceania and China markets.

Korean Air said it will launch a daily flight to Clark, Philippines, starting from October 27. The airline will also add four more operations a week on both Incheon-Chiang Mai and Incheon-Denpasar, increasing the number of flights per week to eleven. In Oceania, the frequency of the Incheon-Brisbane route will be increased from five to seven flights a week.

It is also planning to expand its network to China with the launch of new direct services. The airline said it plans to start direct flights from Incheon to Zhangjiajie and Hangzhou three times a week each, and Incheon-Nanjing four times a week. The service between Incheon and Beijing will also be increased from 14 times a week to 17 times.

The flag carrier will also increase the frequency of some of its domestic routes. It will launch a new service between Pohang and Jeju seven times a week, and the Ulsan-Jeju flight will be operated seven times a week, an increase of two flights a week.

The scheduled updates are subject to government approval and will come into effect after securing the necessary approvals.