South Korea’s Yoon thanks Japan’s Kishida for his efforts to mend ties

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol shake fingers throughout their bilateral assembly on the International Conference Center Hiroshima (ICCH) on the sideline of the G7 leaders’ summit in Hiroshima, western Japan May 19, 2023. Hiro Komae/Pool through REUTERS

HIROSHIMA/SEOUL – South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stated on Sunday that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s phrases resonated with many South Koreans when earlier this month he stated that “his heart hurts” for individuals who suffered as wartime laborers below Japan’s colonial rule.

Yoon made the comment at a gathering with Kishida on the sidelines of the Group of Seven (G7) Summit in Hiroshima in Japan.

The bilateral assembly on Sunday marks the third between the 2 leaders this yr. Although relations between the 2 international locations had been icy for years, ties have improved since South Korea introduced in early March a plan for its firms to compensate compelled labor victims.

Ahead of their assembly on Sunday, Yoon and Kishida visited the Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park to pay their respects at a memorial for Korean victims who had perished within the atomic bombings in 1945.

“I feel that our visit was important for both Japan and South Korea relations, as well as for us to pray for world peace,” Kishida stated to Yoon forward of the assembly. —Reuters