South Korean President Park Geun-hye said Friday she hopes Japan will face up to history and work toward moving relations with Seoul in a "future-oriented manner," as she met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Park made the remark when the German leader asked Park about relations between Seoul and Tokyo. The discussion arose during a bilateral summit held on the sidelines of a summit of the Group of 20 major economies in Russia's port city of Saint Petersburg, senior presidential foreign affairs secretary Ju Chul-ki said.
"Japan is an important neighbor to work together with for co-prosperity and peace in Northeast Asia," Park was quoted as saying. "However, we hope Japan will look correctly at history and take steps to move relations (with Seoul) in a future-oriented manner."
Relations between South Korea and Japan have been tense over Tokyo's repeated claims to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo and its unrepentant attitude toward the sexual enslavement of Korean women for its troops during its 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea.
South Korea sees these moves by Tokyo as a sign that the neighboring nation has not fully repented for its militaristic past. Seoul has urged Tokyo to learn from Germany and heal the wounds it inflicted on its neighbors with a heartfelt apology.
Park has shunned a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe amid soured relations, visiting China after the United States in a departure from her predecessors. But on Thursday, Park exchanged greetings with Abe in a brief encounter ahead of the dinner reception for the G20 leaders.
Other topics for Park's talks with Merkel included North Korea and the Syrian crisis.
On North Korea, Park expressed gratitude to Merkel for warning Pyongyang against provocations and trying to get the regime to become a responsible member of the international community, Ju said.
Park also said that China, the main benefactor for North Korea, understands South Korea's position on the North Korean nuclear standoff and supports Seoul's "Korean Peninsula trust process," a
step-by-step approach to building trust between the two sides.
On the Syrian crisis, Merkel said that she hopes to resolve the crisis through international discussions under the umbrella of the United Nations as much as possible, according to Ju.
In response, Park said that the use of chemical weapons is unacceptable and she hopes the issue will be dealt with in cooperation with the United Nations. The two leaders agreed to cooperate with the international community, including the U.N., to find a political solution.
Merkel said she hopes to invite Park to visit Germany if she wins the general elections later this month. The two leaders have built personal bonds with each other.
Friday's meeting was their fourth since they first met in 2000 when Park visited Germany as leader of the then opposition party.
Merkel was also the first foreign head of state to call Park to congratulate her on winning December's presidential election. (Yonhap)
