S.Korea, Japan look to future, plan to talk trade

By Chisa Fujioka

TOKYO (Reuters) - South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said on Monday that history should not be an obstacle to improved ties with Japan, stressing that better bilateral relations would be a plus for both countries and the region.

Lee and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda agreed at a summit in Tokyo to open working-level talks aimed at restarting stalled negotiations on a free trade deal, and to cooperate closely in efforts to end North Korea's nuclear arms program.

Lee is visiting Tokyo after a trip to the United States, in a resumption of "shuttle" diplomacy that had been suspended under his predecessor, who often complained that Japan had not shown proper contrition for its 1910-1945 rule of the Korean peninsula.

Asked whether the two countries could develop better ties in the future given sometimes bitter feuds over history, Lee, a former business executive who was born in Osaka, western Japan, smiled and said he would rather that question not be asked.

"Of course Japan and South Korea cannot forget the past, but focusing on the past must not be an obstacle to the future," Lee told a news conference through an interpreter.

"It is a plus for the prosperity of both countries and for the peace and prosperity of North Asia for Japan and South Korea to walk together into the 21st century," he added.

Lee repeated the positive sentiments later in a chat with 100 Japanese and Korean residents of Japan that was recorded for airing by a Japanese TV broadcaster later in the day.

"History is always seen differently by the perpetrators and victims," he said, adding it was thus easier for Japan to forget.

"But while we cannot remake history, in the future, if both countries cooperate, we can create something new," he added.

Relations between Japan and South Korea have long been strained over a string of issues stemming from Tokyo's atrocities committed before and during World War Two, and many older Koreans harbor bitter memories of Japan's colonial rule.

EMPEROR INVITATION, TRADE TALKS

Lee also invited Japanese Emperor Akihito to visit South Korea and the emperor, while thanking Lee for the invitation, said any overseas visit would be considered by the government, an Imperial Household Agency spokesman said.

In 2002, Prince Takamado, Akihito's cousin, made the first official visit by a Japanese royal to Korea since World War Two, but no Japanese emperor has visited there since World War Two.

Fukuda, an advocate of warmer ties with Japan's Asian neighbors, echoed the friendly tone, telling the same news conference he wanted to open a "new era" in ties with Seoul and that he planned to visit South Korea later in the year.

"We agreed that it was our job to boost our relationship to a mature partnership, one that deals with international issues together," Fukuda said.

Lee said he asked Fukuda to be more positive about allowing ethnic Korean residents in Japan to vote in local elections, although a government official quoted Fukuda as saying that debate for such a move was still ongoing.

Fukuda's predecessor, Shinzo Abe, tried to mend fences by visiting Seoul soon after taking office in 2006, but then-South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun did not reciprocate the visit.

Fukuda and Lee both said they had agreed to open working level talks to restart negotiations on a free trade deal, which have stalled since their launch in December 2003.

Lee said he was aware of concerns in South Korea that a trade pact may hurt its industries and later urged Japanese businesses to invest more in his country.

"Japan's advanced parts and materials companies should come to South Korea or do more to cooperate in research and development or in strategic alliances with South Korean companies," he said in a speech to Japanese and South Korean business leaders.

"By doing so, they can both enter the global market."

Japan and South Korea are each other's third-biggest trading partners after the United States and China, but pressure in both countries to protect their farm sectors has been a major obstacle to forging a two-way trade pact.