South Korean ministers were originally scheduled to decide on the plan at a meeting on Thursday, but they agreed to have further discussions on the matter, one of the officials said, without elaborating on the reasons for the delay.

The move comes after Japan granted its first approval for the shipment of a high-tech material to South Korea since Tokyo imposed tighter export curbs in early July.

(Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Himani Sarkar)