S. Korea, Japan hold working-level consultations on wartime forced labor, bilateral issues

TOKYO-- South Korea and Japan held working-level diplomatic consultations Monday on their protracted row over wartime forced labor and other bilateral issues.

Seo Min-jung, director general for Asia and Pacific affairs at South Korea's foreign ministry, met with her Japanese counterpart, Takehiro Funakoshi, for discussions at the Japanese foreign ministry in Tokyo. The two previously met on Nov. 24 in Japan.

Discussions were expected to focus on the issue of resolving compensation for forced labor of Koreans during World War II.

The issue has long been a sticking point in the relations between Seoul and Tokyo, though the two neighbors have stepped up efforts to improve security cooperation against North Korea's provocations and threats.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida agreed to seek a prompt settlement of the issue during their summit held in Cambodia last month. (Yonhap)