Yoon: Forced labor plan crucial for better Japan ties

South Korea's President defended his government’s plan to use local funds to compensate Koreans enslaved by Japanese companies before the end of World War II. President Yoon Suk Yeol said that it’s crucial for Seoul to build future-oriented ties with Japan.

The plan announced Monday would offer reparations through a state-run foundation to a group of forced labor victims who had won landmark lawsuits against their former Japanese employers.Hours after Seoul released its plans to compensate forced labor victims, the South Korean and Japanese trade ministries simultaneously announced plans for talks to restore their trade relations.