Representatives of pro-Seoul and pro-Pyongyang Korean organizations in Japan will jointly lay flowers at the A-bomb Cenotaph in August to mark the 56th anniversary of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, city officials said Tuesday.
Representatives from the Hiroshima branches of the pro-Seoul Korean Residents Union in Japan (Mindan) and the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) will attend the Aug. 6 ceremony at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
During the annual ceremony, government and local leaders and representatives of local residents lay flowers at the cenotaph.
Until last year, pro-Seoul and pro-Pyongyang groups supporting A-bomb victims offered flowers separately.
Relations between Mindan and Chongryon have improved since the landmark summit between South Korean President Kim Dae Jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in June 2000.
The groups jointly participated in a "one Korea" parade during a Hiroshima flower festival in May.