Japan PM on hopes for better ties with SKorea

Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, spoke with South Korean President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday and expressed hope to building better bilateral ties between their countries.

Relations between Tokyo and Seoul deteriorated sharply after South Korean courts ordered Japanese companies to pay reparations to Korean laborers over abuses during World War II, when Korea was a colony of Japan.

Japan insists that all compensation issues were settled under the 1965 treaty and that the South Korean court orders violate international law.Yoon said Thursday that the two countries should focus on the future.

The Japanese leader said he hopes to meet Yoon in person in the near future to have discussions face-to-face.