South Korea Should Be the One to Improve Ties, Japan's Abe Says

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe put the onus on Seoul to mend fraught ties between the two U.S. allies in comments made before heading to China, where he is scheduled to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Abe said Monday the current security situation in East Asia made cooperation with Seoul particularly important. He reiterated the government’s view that South Korean court judgments holding Japanese companies liable for the use of forced labor during the colonial period ran counter to a 1965 treaty that normalized ties between the neighbors.