S Korean President says the best has yet to come in relations with Japan

SEOUL: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday reaffirmed his commitment to moving relations with Japan further forward, saying the two countries can open up a new future even better than the best point of the past if they build trust through exchanges and cooperation.

Yoon made the remark during a Cabinet meeting two days after he held a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Seoul, according to Yonhap news agency.

The summit was the second of its kind in less than two months and marked the resumption of "shuttle diplomacy" between the countries' leaders after a 12-year hiatus.

"Things that were unimaginable even until recently are happening now between South Korea and Japan," he said during the meeting at the presidential office, citing his agreement with Kishida to have a group of South Korean experts inspect the planned release of radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.

"If South Korea and Japan, which share the values of a liberal democracy, have exchanges with each other, cooperate and build trust, the South Korea-Japan relationship will be able to develop a new future beyond its prime of the past," he said.

Bilateral relations have warmed significantly since the Yoon administration offered in March to resolve a dispute over wartime forced labour by compensating the Korean victims without contributions from Japanese firms.

Kishida told reporters after Sunday's summit that his "heart aches" over the Koreans' difficult and sad experience under harsh conditions.

"If one does not neglect the history of the dark past and approaches it with sincerity, South Korea and Japan will be able to overcome the difficulties they face and open a new future," Yoon said after quoting Kishida's words.

Yoon marks his first year in office on Wednesday and his remarks were effectively seen as an address to the nation ahead of the anniversary.

He noted his plan to hold a trilateral summit with US President Joe Biden and Kishida on the sidelines of a Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, Japan, next week, and expressed confidence the three countries will strengthen their solidarity for the establishment of regional peace through security cooperation.

-- BERNAMA