SEOUL-- The top diplomats of South Korea and Japan held phone talks Friday to discuss pending issues, including ways to compensate Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced labor under 2018 court rulings, according to Seoul's foreign ministry.
The previous day, the ministry formally floated the idea of using a public foundation based in South Korea to pay the compensation for several Koreans who won lawsuits against two Japanese firms -- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and Nippon Steel Corp.
But the victims and supporting civic groups have rejected the plan, calling for Japan's apologies and direct involvement by the companies in the compensation process.
Foreign Minister Park Jin and his Japanese counterpart, Yoshimasa Hayashi, exchanged their views on the issue, Park's ministry said without providing details.
They also talked about regional security and agreed to continue strengthening bilateral cooperation, as well as three-way cooperation involving the United States, to deter the North's nuclear and missile threats, it added.
Meanwhile, South Korea's ruling party leader expressed hopes earlier in the day that a flurry of sticky issues, including Japan's wartime forced labor compensation, will be addressed gradually.
During a meeting in Tokyo with members of the Korean Residents Union in Japan, better known as Mindan, Rep. Chung Jin-suk of the ruling People Power Party said the two neighboring countries are in close talks and negotiations to resolve such issues as export curbs imposed on each other.
Chung, head of the South Korea-Japan Parliamentarians' Union, visited here earlier in the day.
Source: Yonhap News Agency