Yoon and Kishida pay tribute to Korean atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima

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Yoon and Kishida pay tribute to Korean atomic bomb victims in Hiroshima

Published: 21 May. 2023, 10:45 Updated: 21 May. 2023, 10:50

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, center left, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, center right, accompanied by first ladies Kim Keon-hee and Yuko Kishida, pay respects in front of a cenotaph for Korean victims of the 1945 Hiroshima atomic bombing at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan on Sunday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida paid respects to Korean victims of the 1945 Hiroshima atomic bombing at a memorial park in Japan on Sunday.

This marks the first time the leaders of Korea and Japan jointly visited the cenotaph honoring the Korean victims at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.

The two leaders were joined by Korean first lady Kim Keon-hee and Japanese first lady Yuko Kishida as they laid flowers and had a moment of silence to pay tribute to the bombing victims.

On Aug. 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and another one on Nagasaki three days later. Some 30,000 Koreans, many of them who were in Japan as wartime forced laborers, were killed in Hiroshima during the bombing, which took place toward the end of the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule over Korea. There were an estimated 50,000 Korean victims of the bombing, according to the Korea Atomic Bombs Victim Association.

A group of 10 Korean atomic bomb victims joined the leaders in the visit to the memorial park, which took part on the sidelines of the Group of 7 (G7) Summit.

This comes after Yoon met with a group of surviving Korean victims of the bombing and apologized that Korea was not with them through their suffering on Friday.

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, left, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shake hands before their bilateral summit on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Hiroshima on Sunday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Later Sunday morning, Yoon and Kishida held a bilateral summit, their third in three months, in a continuation of the shuttle diplomacy between the two countries' leaders which was resumed after a 12-year hiatus.

"Our joint visit will be remembered as a courageous action by the prime minister to convey his condolences to the Korean atomic bomb victims and at the same time prepare for a peaceful future," Yoon said at the beginning of the summit regarding their earlier visit to the Hiroshima Memorial Park.

Referring to Kishida's visit to Seoul earlier in the month, Yoon said his remarks "resonated greatly with the Korean people" and said he valued the prime minister's "courage and determination to show sincerity."

During a joint press conference with Yoon on May 7, Kishida said that his "heart aches" thinking of the Korean forced labor victims who had to go through painful and sad experiences in a harsh environment.

Kishida in turn replied that the joint tribute was "important for Korea-Japan relations and for world peace."

He expressed desire to further discuss strengthening cooperation between the two countries on global issues.

The two leaders were also expected to have a trilateral meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden.

Yoon was also expected to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time in Hiroshima later Sunday, according to the presidential office.

The meeting comes after Yoon met with the president's wife, Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska, in Seoul on Tuesday.

Yoon was expected to wrap up his three-day trip to Hiroshima later that day.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]