South Korea President Kim Dae Jung said Monday he expects Japan to take steps "in a responsible manner" to mend ties strained by Japan's approval of contentious history textbooks and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to a controversial shrine.
"Recently, the history textbook issue and the Japanese prime minister's visit to the Shinto shrine caused an undesirable impact on the development of bilateral relations," Kim said in a speech marking the opening of a competition between South Korean and Japanese skilled workers.
"How Japan interprets its history of aggression on the Korean Peninsula is not only an issue concerning the past, but one that determines how trust and friendship between the two countries develops today and tomorrow," he said.
But Kim said cohosting next year's World Cup soccer finals should be an opportunity to strengthen friendship and cooperation between the Japanese and South Korean peoples and to boost economic, cultural and tourism development.