SEOUL, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- South Korea Wednesday called on Japan's new leader to move to improve bilateral ties strained by territorial and historical disputes.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe was elected chief of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party. He replaces Junichiro Koizumi as prime minister, as the party's president automatically becomes the country's prime minister.
"The Seoul government hopes that the factor of strained ties between South Korea and Japan will be cleared with the launch of Japan's new government and their relations will develop into future-oriented friendly relations," Vice Foreign Minister Lee Kyu-hyung said in a press briefing. "I think Japan should show sincerity for it."
Seoul and Tokyo have remained at odds over territorial and historical disputes. President Roh Moo-hyun has avoided summits with Koizumi, citing his regular visits to a war shrine in Tokyo. Japanese leaders' war shrine visits are seen in South Korea as a move to revive Japan's militarism.
Abe has supported Koizumi's pilgrimages to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors 2.5 million Japanese war dead.
Seoul officials also expressed concern that Abe may take a tougher stance against North Korea, saying it could fuel tensions on the Korean peninsula.
As his first move, Abe, a sworn hawk on North Korea, announced a set of financial sanctions on North Korea to punish its July missile tests. North Korea has accused Abe of moving to revise the country's pacifist constitution and build up its military, calling him a "political charlatan."
