TEHRAN, November 07 - Japan should avoid aggravating historical tensions in a diplomatic row over South Koreans forced to work for Japanese firms during World War Two, South Korea's foreign ministry has warned.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - South Korea's top court ruled last month that Japan's Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp <5401.T> must compensate four South Koreans for their forced labor during the war, which Japan has denounced as "unthinkable."
The binding court verdict is straining relations between the neighbors and could affect bilateral efforts to rein in North Korea's nuclear program, analysts say.
Japan and South Korea share a bitter history that includes Japan's 1910-45 colonization of the Korean peninsula and the use of comfort women, Japan's euphemism for girls and women, many of them Korean, forced to work in its wartime brothels.
Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono said in a Bloomberg interview on Sunday that "it would be difficult for any country to do anything with the South Korean government" if a court can reverse Seoul's agreements made under international law.
Kono's remarks threatened to add fuel to the controversy, South Korea's foreign ministry said late on Tuesday.
"South Korea is very concerned that Japan's leaders in positions of responsibility are disregarding the root cause of the issue...and continue to make comments that rouse our public's emotions," the ministry said in a statement.
"The Japanese government must be clearly aware that excessive political emphasis on the present case will be of no help to the future-oriented relationship between South Korea and Japan," the ministry added.
Source: Reuters
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