South Korean President Park Criticizes Japan During Her Meeting With US Defense Secretary Hagel

BLUE HOUSE

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, center, greets South Korean President Park Geun-hye at the Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, Sept. 30, 2013. The two leaders later met to discuss bilateral defense topics. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

Park Urges Japan To Resolve Grievances Over Colonial-Era Atrocities -- Global Post/Yonhap news

SEOUL, Sept. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye told U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Monday that Japan should first resolve long-running grievances over its sexual enslavement of Korean women and other colonial-era atrocities if the two neighbors are to build trust and improve ties.

Park made the remark after Hagel talked about the importance of resolving historical problems and other issues between Seoul and Tokyo in order to establish a three-way security cooperation between South Korea, Japan and the United States, senior presidential secretary Lee Jung-hyun said.

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Update #1: South Korea’s president criticizes Japan during meeting with US defense secretary -- Washington Post/AP
Update #2: Japan, S. Korea fail to mend fences -- Japan Times

My Comment: The old bitterness and hatreds are still there .... even though the occupation and war ended almost 70 years ago.