Seoul/Cheju - South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon
has repeated his country's call on Japan to appropriately deal with
its war past, the Yonhap news agency reported Saturday.
The responsibility for 'removing the cloud over our head,' was
with the people who lived 'here and now,' Song was quoted as saying
at the start of a meeting with his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso.
There were a number of issues to discuss, including 'problems
between South Korea and Japan,' Aso said, according to Yonhap. He had
earlier arrived for a two-day visit on the South Korean holiday
island of Cheju.
Song's demand came in the wake of international criticism of
remarks by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on forced prostitution
during the Second World War. Abe had said at the beginning of March
that there was no proof women had been forced to work in Japanese
military brothels.
Later, Abe confirmed Tokyo's regret for the suffering of the so-
called 'comfort women,' but did not withdraw his earlier remarks.
Up to 200,000 women in Korea, China, Taiwan, Indonesia and the
Philippines were allegedly forced into prostitution by the Japanese
army.
Song and Aso were expected to discuss further steps in the
conflict over North Korea's nuclear weapons programme. The last round
of six-nations talks to end the nuclear programme last week had
broken down without results.
It is yet unclear when the talks between North Korea, the US,
China, South Korea, Japan and Russia will be continued.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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