South Korea, Japan close to resolving wartime forced labor dispute, media says

South Korea and Japan are reportedly close to a deal that could solve the long-running dispute over Japan’s wartime forced labor that has strained relations between the two countries. The move comes as South Korea announced its solution to the historical and legal dispute.

Media reports on Sunday said that Seoul is set to announce its solution to the historical and legal dispute stemming from Japan’s occupation of Korea from 1910 to 1945 on Monday. The labor dispute, as well as the issue of forcing women to work in Japanese brothels at the time, has long strained relations between South Korea and Japan for years. Regarding the reported agreement with Japan, the South Korean foreign ministry said in a statement that negotiations are still taking place.

“The government is continuing to consult in various ways between diplomatic authorities at all levels in order to come up with a reasonable solution that meets the common interests of Korea and Japan as soon as possible,” said the ministry in a statement.

Relations between South Korea and Japan hit their lowest in 2018 when the South Korean Supreme Court ordered Japanese companies to pay compensation to former forced laborers. 15 South Koreans won such cases but have yet to receive the compensation. Japan has maintained that compensations were already made in previous treaties.

Back in January, the South Korean government proposed a plan to compensate former forced laborers through a South Korean public foundation. The proposal came under fire from the families of the victims as it did not include contributions from Japanese companies, including firms ordered by the South Korean court to pay reparations.

Japan’s Kyodo news outlet reported that Japanese companies would be allowed to contribute to the foundation on a voluntary basis, and both Tokyo and Seoul are hoping for South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to visit Japan this month.

On Monday, South Korea said its companies would compensate victims of forced labor, and while Tokyo welcomed the proposal, some of the victims and lawmakers of the opposition party accused the government of yielding to Japan.

A Japanese government source close to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told Reuters that the United States had been pressing for reconciliation, but the main driving factor of Yoon’s push for reconciliation was the threat posed by North Korea.

Washington said the announcement by Seoul was “groundbreaking.”