Japan sees signs of a "mood" in South Korea to seek talks to salvage a bilateral relationship that has soured over wartime compensation and trade issues, the top government spokesman said Sunday.
"There is a mood that South Korea is seeking some sort of talks as they believe it is not good to leave the current situation as it is," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a panel discussion in Tokyo.
Relations between the neighbors significantly deteriorated after South Korea's Supreme Court last year ordered Japanese companies to compensate Koreans over forced wartime labor, Suga said.