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| Foreign Minister Park Jin / Yonhap |
The top diplomats of Korea and Japan held phone talks Friday to discuss pending issues, including ways to compensate Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced labor under 2018 court rulings, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.
The previous day, the ministry formally floated the idea of using a public foundation based in Korea to pay the compensation for several Koreans who won lawsuits against two Japanese firms ― Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Nippon Steel.
But the victims and supporting civic groups have rejected the plan, calling for Japan's apologies and direct involvement by the companies in the compensation process.
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| Members of a civic group seeking compensation from Japanese firms over forced labor during World War II and opposition lawmakers stage a rally in front of the National Assembly in Seoul to voice their opposition to the government's reported resolution to the issue that lacks the direct involvement of related Japanese firms, Jan. 12. Newsis |
Foreign Minister Park Jin and his Japanese counterpart, Yoshimasa Hayashi, exchanged their views on the issue, Park's ministry said without providing details.
They also talked about regional security and agreed to continue strengthening bilateral cooperation, as well as three-way cooperation involving the United States, to deter the North's nuclear and missile threats, it added. (Yonhap)
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