S Korea’s Yoon urges better ties with Japan, offers N Korea aid

S Korean leader marks the 77th anniversary of liberation from Japanese colonial rule with appeals to overcome historical disputes with Japan and for peace with N Korea.

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol has called for better ties with Japan and again offered North Korea a wide-ranging package of economic assistance if it abandoned its nuclear programme.

Yoon made the remarks on Monday during a ceremony celebrating the end of Japan’s colonial occupation of the Korean Peninsula.

Japan had ruled all of Korea from 1910 until the end of World War II in 1945, and its withdrawal was followed by a war five years later between rival Korean governments that resulted in the division of the peninsula into North and South Korea.

Yoon, a conservative who took office in May pledging to improve ties with Japan, described Tokyo on Monday as a partner in tackling global challenges and said the two nations must overcome disputes dating to the colonial era.

“In the past, we had to unshackle ourselves from Imperial Japan’s political control and defend our freedom. Today, Japan is our partner as we face common threats that challenge the freedom of global citizens,” the South Korean leader said.

“When South Korea and Japan move toward a common future and when the mission of our times align, based on our shared universal values, it will also help us solve the historical problems that exist between our two countries,” he said.

Agencies