World News

Moon extends olive branch to Tokyo over wartime history


Relations between America’s Asian allies sank to their lowest point in decades last year as they allowed their disagreements over wartime history to spill over into issues related to trade and military cooperation.

Moon, who tempered his words, avoided direct criticism of the conservative Japanese government of Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, which has insisted that all compensation issues were settled when the two countries normalized relations under a 1965 treaty.

Japan’s stance was refuted by South Korea’s Supreme Court in 2018, when it ruled that the deal did not cover individual rights to seek reparations and called on Japanese companies to compensate aging Korean plaintiffs who had been forced into slave labor.

“Our government is ready to sit face-to-face with the Japanese government at any time” to find a mutual solution the victims can support, Moon said. He said the process would help build a “bridge of friendship and future cooperation” between the countries.

Tokyo didn’t immediately respond to Moon’s comments.

In a move Seoul saw as retaliation for the court ruling, Japan last year tightened export restrictions on certain high-tech materials used by major South Korean companies to produce semiconductors and smartphone displays — key exports for South Korea. South Korea has proceed with a complaint to the World Trade Organization.

Moon also called for North Korea to respond to South Korean proposals for bilateral cooperation, including joint programs against COVID-19 and other diseases, and the resumption of temporary reunions between aging relatives separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.

Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.



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