한일 외교장관 회담 전화통화 “강경화 장관 일본에 지용문제 신중 대응 촉구”

The top diplomats of South Korea and Japan spoke on the phone this morning about the recent court rulings in Seoul ordering Japanese companies to pay for using Koreans for forced labor during World War Two.
The ruling caused tensions between the neighbors, but the phone call is seen as a positive sign.
Our foreign ministry correspondent Lee Ji-won has more.
Their phone call Wednesday morning was the first time since the forced labor ruling in October,... that the foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan have discussed the issue directly.
According to South Korea's foreign ministry, Minister Kang Kyung-wha explained Seoul's stance to Minister Taro Kono and urged Japan to respond to the issue prudently.
The two Ministers agreed to stay in close communication.
A senior official at South Korea's foreign ministry said the exchange can be seen as an easing of Tokyo's hardline stance.
Though the rulings involve individuals and private firms, they sparked much tension between the two countries' governments.
Japan has strongly protested the outcome, arguing that the issue was settled through the 1965 bilateral agreement... under which Tokyo paid Seoul 500 million U.S. dollars to normalize their diplomatic relations.
The South Korean government has urged Japan to tone down the harsh rhetoric,... and said both sides should respect judicial independence.
Soon after the ruling, Seoul also formed a group of officials and experts to formulate an official government response, while saying that Seoul-Tokyo ties need to remain oriented towards the future.
The defendant in the ruling, Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation, is yet to respond.
The lawyers of plaintiffs requested that it give one by December 24th, saying that if the firm does not respond by then, it'll take steps to seize the firm's assets in South Korea.
In late October, Seoul's top court ordered the steelmaker to pay four of the victims and their families around 87-thousand dollars for unpaid work.
In November, there was a similar ruling in two cases involving forced labor by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
Both companies argued that the 1965 bilateral agreement meant the case was closed, but the Supreme Court reasoned that the agreement did not terminate the right of individuals to seek reparations.
Lee Ji-won, Arirang News.