S. Korea, Japan FMs agree to work toward stable ties

South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se has agreed with his Japanese counterpart to continue efforts for stable bilateral relations at their meeting in New York, the foreign ministry said Friday.

The meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida came on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday in New York time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The closely-watched meeting came as bilateral ties have been strained by an array of thorny issues involving their shared history, including a feud over the Japanese Imperial Army's sexual enslavement of Korean women.

Yun said in the meeting that Japan should make heartfelt efforts to heal its past history, including the so-called comfort women issue in order to improve bilateral ties.

In response, Kishida reasserted the Japanese government's position that the Kono Statement issued by then Cabinet Secretary Yohei Kono in apology to the South Korean victims in 1993, will not be revised, according to the foreign ministry.

Also discussed in the meeting were South Korean concerns over Japan's moves to strengthen its military forces as well as Tokyo's hopes of resuming South Korean imports of Japanese fishery goods, the ministry said.

"Both ministers shared the opinion that they would continue efforts for the steady development of bilateral relations ahead of the 50th anniversary of their establishing diplomatic ties in 2015," it said.

The meeting followed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's proposal to hold a summit with South Korean President Park Geun-hye in the fall.

Abe conveyed a written offer to Park through former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who visited Seoul late last week. (Yonhap)