Japanese, S Koreans officials move to mend fences

Senior South Korean and Japanese officials have renewed efforts to mend Seoul-Tokyo ties in an attempt to reduce tensions across the troubled Asia-Pacific region.

Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki held talks with his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yong in Seoul on Wednesday.

Japanese sources say Saiki was to use the meeting to propose a trilateral summit between leaders of Japan, South Korea and the US later this month.

However, there has been no official response by Seoul to the reported offer.

The neighbors have not held high-level talks since December, when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited a Tokyo shrine that honors several war criminals.

Abe became the first Japanese premier in seven years to pay his respects at Yasukuni Shrine, where Japanese veterans are buried. Some Japanese officials convicted of committing war crimes during World War II are also buried at the site.

Reacting to the controversial visit, South Korean President Park Geun-hye has recently refused to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo. Seoul’s parliament has also passed a resolution denouncing Japanese prime minister’s visit to a controversial war shrine.

South Korea and China have criticized the move, calling it a symbol of Tokyo’s militarism and aggression.

Senior Chinese officials also say Japanese prime minister’s visit to Yasukuni war shrine was “by no means a domestic affair of Japan” and reflects the attitude of his government toward the country’s colonial rule in the past.

Japan occupied large parts of China and the Korean Peninsula during World War II.