South Korean-Japanese Relations Must Move Forward Despite Old Animosities - President

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st March, 2023) The bilateral relations between Seoul and Tokyo must move forward, regardless of their past difficulties, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Tuesday.

"Korea-Japan relations must move beyond the past," he said during a cabinet meeting, adding that "Korea-Japan relations can and must be a win-win relationship that works together and gains more together," the South Korean Yonhap news Agency reported.

The developments follow a predominantly negative reaction of South Korean main opposition Democratic Party and other critics to the president's summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during his visit to Japan from March 16-17.

His detractors believe the president has made unannounced concessions to Japan regarding issues that have been souring the bilateral relations for decades, including Japan's wartime forced labor.

In the beginning of March, the South Korean government proposed a compensation plan for the victims of forced labor during the Japanese rule through a South Korean public foundation instead of Japanese companies, as originally prescribed by court. While some of the victims rejected the proposal, Tokyo welcomed it.