(LEAD) Top diplomats of S. Korea, Japan vow continued efforts to promote ties in 'future-oriented' manner

▲ Foreign Minister Park Jin (R) shakes hands with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa ahead of their bilateral talks at a hotel in Busan on Nov. 26, 2023, where they gathered to hold trilateral talks with their Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, later in the day. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

▲ Foreign Minister Park Jin (C) meets Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa for bilateral talks in Busan on Nov. 26, 2023, where they gathered to have trilateral talks with their Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, later in the day. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) S Korea-Japan-FM talks

(LEAD) Top diplomats of S. Korea, Japan vow continued efforts to promote ties in 'future-oriented' manner

(ATTN: UPDATES with foreign ministry's briefing on Park-Kamikawa talks; CHANGES photos)

By Kim Seung-yeon

BUSAN, Nov. 26 (Yonhap) -- The top diplomats of South Korea and Japan agreed Sunday to continue efforts to promote the bilateral relations in "a constructive and future-oriented" manner, amid a thaw in the ties with the resumption of shuttle diplomacy between the leaders.

Foreign Minister Park Jin and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa reached the agreement during the bilateral talks in Busan, held ahead of the trilateral gathering involving their Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.

Taking note of the brisk diplomacy reinforced by the series of summits between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, the two ministers agreed to seek ways to "produce tangible results that can be felt by the peoples of the two countries," a foreign ministry official in Seoul said after the talks.

They also agreed to deepen cooperation in advanced technologies and other areas, the official said.

Park and Kamikawa exchanged opinions on the South Korean appeals court's ruling earlier this week that overturned the lower court's decision and ordered Japan to pay compensation to Korean victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery.

Park reiterated Seoul's position that it respects the 2015 agreement with Japan to settle the issue of wartime sex slaves, in which the two countries agreed to "finally and irreversibly" resolve the issue.

Under the agreement, Tokyo apologized for the colonial-era atrocities and agreed to contribute 1 billion yen (US$8.9 million) to a foundation dedicated to supporting the victims.

"Minister Park said that both countries should strive to restore the honor and dignity of the victims in the agreement, and continue to make efforts toward a constructive and future-oriented relationship," the official said.

Bilateral relations between Seoul and Tokyo have significantly warmed since South Korea decided in March to resolve the issue of compensating Korean forced labor victims during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula without asking for contributions from Japanese companies.

The decision led to the resumption of reciprocal visits by their leaders. Yoon and Kishida have met seven times this year.

They also discussed North Korea's recent launch of a military spy satellite, condemning the provocation as a serious threat to regional peace in Northeast Asia in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning such launches.

They agreed to continue close coordination between South Korea and Japan, as well as among the United States, their mutual ally, over North Korean issues, including its growing military cooperation with Russia.

Japan's release of the treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant was also addressed, and they agreed to continue cooperation to safely manage the discharge.

At the talks, Kamikawa is said to have reaffirmed Japan's support for South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in Busan.

Kamikawa arrived in Busan, the venue for the trilateral gathering, on Saturday, her first visit to South Korea since she took office in September.

Park and Kamikawa last met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco earlier this month.

(END)

(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved