Politics
16:38, 09-Feb-2018
South Korea's Moon meets Japan's Abe before opening of PyeongChang Olympics
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South Korean President Moon Jae-in has urged Japan to look "squarely" at history to improve ties with Seoul, during a meeting with the visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday.
Moon said South Korea hopes to form "true friendship" with Japan, but Japan must first look squarely at the invasion history.
Moon and Abe met hours before the opening of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
The bilateral talks were held in Yongpyeong, just east of PyeongChang.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ahead of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics in Yongpyeong. /VCG Photo
South Korean President Moon Jae-in held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ahead of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics in Yongpyeong. /VCG Photo
Moon also proposed to resume shuttle diplomacy, under which the leaders of South Korea and Japan paid frequent visits to each other for bilateral talks.
Such visits have been suspended since late 2015, when the countries signed a controversial agreement to settle Japan's sexual slavery of Korean women during World War II.
A protester wearing a mask of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in mock apology in front of the "comfort women" statue outside the Japanese consulate in Busan, S. Korea. /AFP Photo
A protester wearing a mask of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in mock apology in front of the "comfort women" statue outside the Japanese consulate in Busan, S. Korea. /AFP Photo
Seoul's former conservative administration under the ousted former President Park Geun-hye agreed to settle the issue "finally and irreversibly" in exchange for 10 billion Japanese yen (about 9.16 million US dollars).
The deal, which Park said settled the prolonged dispute, triggered widespread anger domestically. Koreans strongly rejected the deal, saying it was reached without consulting the surviving victims.
(With input from Yonhap)