South Korea will not attend Sado Mine memorial event in Japan due to ongoing historical tensions

SEOUL, South Korea — The South Korean government said Saturday it will not attend a memorial service near the gold mines of Sado Island in Japan due to unspecified differences with Tokyo over the event, which has sparked long-standing tensions over the mistreatment of Korean forced laborers. workers on site before its completion. World War II.

South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it would not be possible to resolve differences between both governments before Sunday’s planned event.

The ministry did not specify what the differences were.

Some South Koreans criticized the Seoul government for supporting the event without securing a clear commitment from Japan to draw attention to the plight of Korean workers.

Sentiment in South Korea over the event worsened after the Japanese government said this week it would send Akiko Ikuina, the country’s parliamentary deputy foreign minister, to the event. Ikuina reportedly visited the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo following her election as a lawmaker in 2022, which commemorates the country’s estimated 2.5 million war dead, including convicted war criminals. Japan’s neighbors view the temple as a symbol of the country’s past militarism.

There were also complaints that South Korea agreed to pay travel expenses for family members of Korean victims who were invited to the ceremony.

South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol has prioritized improving relations with Japan after years of disputes over their bitter history and strengthening trilateral security cooperation with Washington in the face of the North Korean nuclear threat.