Yoon: Seoul-Tokyo ties key to address N Korea, supply chains

By HYUNG-JIN KIM and KIM TONG-HYUNG
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s president wants to quickly overcome decades of lingering hostility left over from Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula and forge a united front on North Korea’s nuclear threats and other regional security and economic challenges facing the neighbors. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol gave written responses to questions from The Associated Press and other media before he meets with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday. Yoon says tighter Seoul-Tokyo cooperation is crucial to face North Korea’s nuclear threat and global supply chain vulnerabilities. Yoon’s government last week took a major step toward improving ties by announcing local funding to compensate Koreans enslaved by Japan during its 1910-1945 colonial rule.