Han, Kishida discuss forced labor compensation issue

The prime ministers of Korea and Japan discussed ways to move forward on the forced labor issue, the biggest problem in diplomatic ties in recent years, in a meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday..

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, left, shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during a meeting at the Akasaka Palace, a Japanese state guest house in Tokyo, on Wednesday. [NEWS1]

The prime ministers of Korea and Japan discussed ways to move forward on the forced labor issue, the biggest problem in diplomatic ties in recent years, in a meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday.

“Korea and Japan are close neighbors and important partners who share democratic values and market economy principles,” Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo told Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in their meeting at the Akasaka Palace, a Japanese state guest house in Tokyo.

“The new government of the Republic of Korea, inaugurated in May, has continued to emphasize that it is in the common interest for both countries to improve and develop Korea-Japan relations as soon as possible,” said Han, adding that the two countries may be at a “turning point."

The meeting, lasting some 25 minutes, took place as Han was visiting Tokyo to attend the state funeral of assassinated former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

It followed the first talks between Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Kishida in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last week.

In the meeting Wednesday, Kishida thanked Han and the Korean government for their condolences, according to the ministry.

“Prime Minister Han discussed ways to improve and develop Korea-Japan relations, including resolving the issue of forced labor, with Prime Minister Kishida,” Cho Hyun-dong, vice foreign minister of Korea, told the press afterwards.

While the conversation didn’t go “in depth” on the details of possible solutions tp the forced labor issue, the two prime ministers “reached a consensus” on the need to work together, Cho said.

The diplomatic spat between Tokyo and Seoul on Korean victims of Japanese wartime forced labor date to 2018.

On Oct. 30, 2018, the Korean Supreme Court ordered Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal, renamed Nippon Steel, to pay 100 million won ($69,270) each to Korean victims of Japanese forced labor during World War II. It made a similar ruling on Nov. 29, 2018 against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

Japan has protested the decisions, claiming that all compensation issues related to its colonial rule were resolved with a 1965 treaty normalizing bilateral relations.

Nippon Steel and Mitsubishi refused to comply with the rulings, leading to a drawn-out legal process, a move that escalated tensions between Seoul and Tokyo.

As relations soured, Tokyo placed restrictions on some exports to Korea including materials that are key to the semiconductor and display industries in August 2019. Seoul responded with threats to end a military intelligence-sharing pact with Tokyo signed 2012 and renewed annually.

The Supreme Court of Korea has yet to rule on a case of liquidating some Japanese corporate assets to compensate the Korean victims.

With an impending ruling, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry hosted in recent months a series of discussions between experts and victims on possible solutions.

The victims have repeatedly called for a direct apology and compensation from the Japanese companies, and rejected an option of the Korean government stepping in to compensate them.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]