Asian markets traded weaker on Friday as comments from U.S. President Donald Trump on an existing free trade pact with Seoul to payment for a sophisticated anti-missile system caught investors by surprise.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan tailed off 55.13 points, or 0.3%, to end the week at 19,196.74.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index wilted 83.35 points, or 0.3%, to 24,615.13
Japan earlier reported that March Consumer Price Index had increased 0.2% from one year ago. This was below expectations of a 0.3% rise.
The dollar/yen strengthened slightly to trade at 111.3 earlier in the session but later reversed those gains to trade at 111.2. The greenback fetched 109.68 yen at the beginning of the week.
Meanwhile, shares of Japanese gaming giant Nintendo rose 2.1% after the company said yesterday that it was forecasting a 121% surge in operating profit for the new fiscal year. Nintendo expects to sell 10 million units of its latest Switch console. Nintendo shares traded at 28,045 yen a share at the end of the session.
South Korea's Kospi index, initially in the green, dipped on news that Trump was threatening to terminate a trade agreement with the country. Trump also warned that conflict with North Korea was possible, even though he said he preferred a peaceful resolution.
South Korean officials told media outlets that Washington had not yet "requested anything" from them regarding the agreement.
The U.S. dollar pairing with the Korean won traded lower after Trump's remarks, with the greenback fetching 1,136.35 won.
Shares of Korean automakers moved after the news, with shares of Hyundai Motors eventually closing 2% lower. Korean retailers were also hit, with Lotte Himart down by 2.8% and E-mart dropping by 2.1% at the close.
Australia Q1 producer price index and Singapore bank lending numbers were announced earlier in the session.
In other markets
The CSI 300 in Shanghai dropped 6.97 points, or 0.2%, to 3,439.75
In Taiwan, the Taiex index added 11.38 points, or 0.1%, to 9,872
The Kospi Index in Korea slumped 4.02 points, or 0.2%, to 2,205.44
In Singapore, the Straits Times Index recovered 4.08 points, or 0.1%, to 3,175.44
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 gained 24.13 points, or 0.3%, to 7,378.75
In Australia, the ASX 200 gained 2.58 points to 5,924.06
