S. Korean FM expresses concerns over Japan's Sado mine bid in meeting with UNESCO chief

South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong expressed deep concerns over Japan's move to have a mine linked to the forced labor of Koreans listed as a world heritage site in a meeting with UNESCO chief in Paris on Tuesday (local time), the foreign ministry said.

Chung held a 40-minute meeting with UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay in Paris, where he is visiting for the Indo Pacific Ministerial Forum 2022.

Tokyo announced its bid to have the Sado mine listed as a UNESCO world heritage site earlier this year.

Seoul has filed a protest against the Japanese move, noting Tokyo has failed to fulfill its pledge to offer full public information on the forced labor of Koreans at its existing UNESCO heritage sites, including Hashima Island mine, which was listed in 2015.

Azoulay said UNESCO fully understood Seoul's concerns over the Sado mine and that it will also continue to work to have Japan honor its 2015 pledge to make public the information on the forced labor of Koreans, according to the foreign ministry.

Chung earlier called for regional efforts to address disputes over historical issues while speaking at the ministerial forum, hosted by Paris.

"(We) may be able to learn from Europe's experience of overcoming differences over history to reach reconciliation and unity through multilateralism and apply such experience to promoting regional cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region," the South Korean foreign minister was quoted as saying.

South Korea-Japan relations have been at their lowest ebb since mid-2019 when Japan imposed trade restrictions on South Korea-bound exports of three key items used to produce semiconductors and display panels, a move widely seen as an attempt to retaliate against Seoul court decisions ordering Japanese firms to pay compensation to South Koreans forced into labor during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea.

The top South Korean diplomat also reaffirmed Seoul's commitment to engage with North Korea.

"The North Korean nuclear issue is not limited to the Korean Peninsula and poses threats to the peace and security of not only the Northeast Asian and Indo-Pacific region but the entire world," Chung said, according to the foreign ministry.

"Our government will not cease its efforts to engage with North Korea," Chung added. (Yonhap)