SKorea calls on Japan to improve relations

SOUTH KOREA: South Korea called on Japan Wednesday to make sincere efforts to improve the countries' seriously frayed relations after Japan's ruling party elected a new leader who is expected to take office as prime minister next week.

"The government hopes the relations with Japan will get out of an abnormal situation like this and develop in a future-oriented way," South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Lee Kyu-hyung told a regular news briefing. "For this, Japan should show sincere attitudes and efforts to improved relations between the two countries."

Earlier in the day, Japan's top government spokesman Shinzo Abe won a resounding victory in the ruling Liberal Democratic Party presidential vote as expected, effectively becoming the successor to Junichiro Koizumi as the country's prime minister.

"The government hopes that sources of discord between South Korea and Japan will be addressed on the occasion of the launch of a new government in Japan," Lee said. Relations between Seoul and Tokyo have seriously soured in recent years over a series of issues, including Koizumi's repeated visits to a war shrine where convicted war criminals are honored. South Korea and China view such visits as an attempt to glorify Japan's wartime past and have filed strong complaints.

The dispute has led to a freeze in summit talks between South Korea and Japan, although lower-level diplomatic exchanges along with economic and other ties remain intact.

Seoul, Wednesday, AP