Japan, South Korea foreign ministers agree to improve ties

By YURI KAGEYAMA and HYUNG-JIN KIM
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — The foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan have reaffirmed the importance of bilateral ties and the three-way relationship with the United States as they renewed efforts to mend relations. Park Jin and his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi agreed to work together on the nuclear threat from North Korea and on the need to resolve a dispute over Japan’s colonial-era forced mobilization of Korean laborers. The countries’ ties have been strained mostly over historical issues, including forced labor leading up to and during World War II. A South Korean statement says Seoul would seek a resolution of the dispute before the sales of two Japanese companies ordered by South Korean courts take place in South Korea as a way to compensate forced laborers.