Yoon Suk-yeol indicates Japan apologized enough for the past: Seoul official

A high-ranking South Korean government official has said his country's President Yoon Suk-yeol has indicated that Japan had apologized enough for its colonial past.

In a joint news conference after their summit in Tokyo on Thursday, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said that his government inherits the positions of previous Cabinets on historical perceptions, including the 1998 Japan-South Korea joint declaration.

Yoon also mentioned the declaration, saying this year marks the 25th anniversary of the accord reached between one of his predecessors, Kim Dae-jung, and then Japanese Prime Minister Obuchi Keizo.

In the declaration, Obuchi expressed his ''deep remorse and heartfelt apology" for what he described as "tremendous damage and suffering" caused by Japan to the people of South Korea through its colonial rule.

Yoon said his meeting with Kishida represented the first step toward inheriting the spirit of the joint declaration in a progressive manner, overcoming the unfortunate history between the two countries, and opening a new relationship.

The senior South Korean official later told reporters that Yoon's remark reflects the president's intention to pursue new future-oriented ties while casting no more doubt on Japan's historical perceptions.

Source: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230317_01/