Foreign minister says Korea will push for Kishida's visit this year

Foreign Minister Park Jin speaks during a plenary session of the National Assembly's foreign affairs and unification committee in Seoul on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

Foreign Minister Park Jin said Tuesday that Korea will work to arrange a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to Seoul this year.

President Yoon Suk Yeol visited Tokyo last Thursday and Friday, and held a summit with Kishida in the wake of Seoul's decision to resolve a long-running dispute over wartime forced labor by compensating the victims on its own without asking Japanese companies for contributions.

"We will continue shuttle diplomacy, including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's return visit within the year, and vitalize high-level exchanges and communication," Park said during a parliamentary session.

The two leaders agreed during their summit to resume shuttle diplomacy, or regular visits to each other's countries.

Yoon was the first Korean president in 12 years to make a bilateral visit to Japan, as the two countries' relations had been strained over a series of historical disputes stemming from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.

Park reiterated that Korea's solution to the forced labor issue is the start, not the end, of a resolution to the dispute.

"Japan has said it will not take a particular stance on voluntary contributions by the private sector," he said. "We hope the private sector, including the business circle, will contribute voluntarily for the future-oriented development of Korea-Japan relations."

Park also said the government will continue to reach out to the forced labor victims and their family members to better their understanding of its solution and to enable its smooth implementation.

Yonhap