Japan’s leader makes a farewell visit to Seoul and reaffirms sympathy for Korean colonial victims

Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has visited Seoul and reaffirmed sympathy for the suffering of Koreans during Japan’s colonial rule, as he and his South Korean counterpart Friday underscored the need to maintain warming ties between the Asian neighbors. Kishida and conservative South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol have worked together heal ties badly frayed over grievances stemming from Japan’s brutal 1910-45 occupation of the Korean Peninsula. During a Friday meeting with Yoon, Kishida says he has “strong pains in my heart” over the suffering of victims of forced labor. Kishida made similar comments over the victims last year.