00:03 EDT, 1 March 2021
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Monday that his government is eager for talks with Japan to improve relations following years of bitter feuding over historical grievances, adding that those unresolved issues should not stand in the way of developing "future-oriented" ties.
"There have been times where issues of the past weren´t separated from those of the future and became intermingled with each other. This has impeded forward-looking development," Moon said in a nationally televised speech commemorating the anniversary of a 1919 Korean uprising against Japanese colonial rule.
"The Korean government is always ready to sit down and have talks with the Japanese government," he said.