S.Korean govt slams Japan over Koizumi's visit to war shrine
( 2002-04-22 14:21 ) (7 )

South Korean Foreign and Trade Minister Choi Sung-hong Monday lodged an official protest over Japanese Prime Minister Juniciro Koizumi's visit to the Kasukuni Shrine honoring Japanese war dead.

Choi summoned the Japanese ambassador to Seoul to the Foreign Ministry to hear the protest. The South Korean government "cannot but feel worried over Koizumi's paying tribute to the war criminals who had caused untold tragedies and sufferings to the neighboring countries with their colonial rule and aggression," he said.

If Japan really wants to forge relations of genuine good neighborliness with its close neighbors, it must base itself on a correct view of that period of history and show sincerity in handling the sentiment of people in Japan's neighboring countries that have suffered under Japan's imperialist aggression, the minister said.

Meanwhile, Lee Man-sup, speaker of South Korea's National Assembly, said Koizumi's surprise visit to the shrine by moving from the more conspicuous August to April, is not an open and aboveboard act, adding that the move could only "hurt the feelings of people in South Korea, China and other Asian countries, and bring shame to Japanese nationals of conscience."

On Sunday Koizumi made a surprise visit to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors 2.5 million war dead, including 14 designated as Class A criminals by the Allies in the trials following World War II.