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PARIS/SEOUL, May 23 (Yonhap) -- The top diplomats of South Korea and Japan discussed a simmering row over Tokyo's wartime forced labor and other pending issues on the sidelines of an international conference in Paris on Thursday.
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha called for close bilateral communication. But tensions were palpable as her Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono, voiced discontent over a Seoul official's thinly veiled criticism of Japanese firms' inaction in compensating Korean victims of forced labor.
"There are difficult issues between the two countries, but it is important to closely communicate whenever opportunities arise," Kang said during the talks on the margins of the Ministerial Council Meeting of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris.
Noting that the new era of "Reiwa," or beautiful harmony, opened with the recent enthronement of Emperor Naruhito, Kang voiced hope that Seoul-Tokyo relations will evolve in a forward-looking manner.
Kono took issue with remarks by Kim In-chul, spokesman of Seoul's foreign ministry, that there would be "no problems" if the Japanese firms in question comply with court orders to remunerate the victims.
Kim made the remarks in reference to Kono's recent call for South Korean President Moon Jae-in to "responsibly" address the forced labor issue.
"I think that is a very serious statement that does not understand the gravity of this matter," Kono said.
"I urge (South Korea) to share the understanding that such remarks will make Japan-South Korea relations very difficult," he added.
Bilateral ties have chilled in recent months as Japan has challenged South Korean Supreme Court rulings last year that ordered Japanese firms to compensate South Korean victims of forced labor during its 1910-45 colonization of the peninsula.
The top court has recognized victims' rights to claim damages, but Tokyo maintains that all reparation issues stemming from its colonial rule were settled under a 1965 government-to-government accord that normalized bilateral relations.
Tensions flared anew on Monday as Japan requested the formation of an arbitration panel involving a third-country member to address the forced labor issue based on dispute settlement procedures enshrined in the normalization accord.
In January, Tokyo called for bilateral diplomatic talks over the issue also based on the accord. But Seoul has remained unresponsive, refusing to weigh in on civil litigation involving private citizens and Japanese firms.
The accord stipulates that the two sides are to settle any dispute related to the accord primarily through diplomatic channels. If they fail to settle it, the case can then be referred to an arbitration panel involving a third-country member agreed on by the two sides.
Should the arbitration panel fail to hammer out a solution, Japan could bring the case to the International Court of Justice.
Seoul has so far been taking a cautious approach, saying that it honors judicial decisions and that it cannot intervene in legal disputes between private citizens and foreign firms still in progress.
The forced labor issue aside, Kang and Kono were expected to discuss the possibility of a summit between President Moon and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit slated to take place in Osaka, Japan, on June 28 and 29.
Kang and Kono last held bilateral talks on the sidelines of a security forum in Germany in February.
This file photo, taken Jan. 23, 2019, shows Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (R) shaking hands with her Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono, before their talks on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. (Yonhap)
sshluck@yna.co.kr
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