Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul (Yonhap)
Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul said Wednesday he takes "full responsibility" for the controversy over Japan's memorial ceremony for Korean wartime forced labor victims, expressing regret over Tokyo's failure to honor the promises it made to the international community.
Criticism emerged after Japan hosted the event for Sado mine forced laborers earlier this week, which failed to properly acknowledge the victims or the site's full history of forced mobilization of labor during World War II, when Korea was under Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule.
Holding a memorial ceremony was a condition for Seoul's consent to the location's inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Critics have blasted the South Korean government for what they call a "diplomatic failure" with Tokyo over historical issues, a longstanding thorn in bilateral relations between the two neighbors.
"Consequently, I take full responsibility for how things have turned out," Cho told reporters at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, upon returning from the Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers' meeting in Italy.
"I regret that the outcome was not carried out properly," he said.
As for what Japan has shown over the course of negotiations, however, Cho pointed out that it calls into question its commitment to delivering on its promise.
"It's not a matter of negotiations, but a matter of judgment on whether or not Japan has carried out the promise it made to South Korea and to the international community," Cho said.
Cho stressed that the government will continue to raise this issue with the World Heritage Committee and urge Japan to faithfully implement its commitments.
Cho also said he expressed regret over the Sado mine memorial when he met one-on-one with his Japanese counterpart, Takeshi Iwaya, on the sidelines of the G7 gathering.
"I explained in detail the reasons for and the backdrop of our decision not to attend Japan's ceremony," Cho said. "How could this have been explained without expressing regret?"
Cho also told Iwaya that the attendance of a Japanese vice foreign minister, mistakenly believed to have visited the Yasukuni Shrine, was "not the decisive reason" for boycotting the event.
The shrine honors the Japanese war dead, including war criminals from World War II, and any visits or offerings made to the site by Japanese government officials is strongly protested by countries like South Korea and China.
Seoul's foreign ministry said Tuesday it had expressed regret to Japan over the handling of the memorial service, a day after boycotting the Japan-hosted event. Instead, the ministry accompanied bereaved family members to a separate ceremony near the mine site to pay respects to the victims. (Yonhap)
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