S. Korea urges Japan to apologize for wartime atrocities for better ties

JEJU ISLAND, May 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea Friday urged Japan to apologize for the wartime atrocities it committed against South Korea and other Asian neighbors to help improve their ties.

"(We) can't expect a healthy future if we do not heal the wounds of the past," Vice Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said at a roundtable discussion at the Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity. He was joined by Tokyo's Ambassador to Seoul Koro Bessho.

Cho said the neighboring countries will be able to resolve historical disputes if Japan squarely faces the issue of its wartime atrocities.

He was apparently referring to the Shinzo Abe administration's equivocal attitude on landmark apologies by previous Japanese leaders for its wrongdoings, especially during World War II, including the sexual enslavement of Korean, Chinese and other Asian women.

In his speech before the U.S. Congress last month, Abe stopped short of offering his own apology for the so-called "comfort women" issue.

Hundreds of U.S. and other foreign historians later issued a joint statement critical of Abe's lack of an apology.

"It's quite an exceptional move which seems to be based on the scholars' conscience," Cho said. "Their motive is a belief that the past is a mirror of the present and the future."

Cho said South Korea will closely watch how the Japanese government will respond to such voices.

Japan's ambassador countered Cho's remarks, saying it's important to make mutual efforts to understand each other.

"(The two nations) should not halt really necessary cooperation due to such a difficult, contentious matter," Bessho said. "How to build trust is of importance."

He stressed that the strength of Seoul-Tokyo security ties falls short of expectations from the U.S. and other partner countries.

"The two nations should explore ways to ride out political difficulties and move forward," he said.

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