Tokyo and Seoul on Sunday signed an agreement for the return of more than 1,200 volumes of Korean historical texts that were taken during its war-time colonisation by Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak met and endorsed the pact, signed by their foreign ministers on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific summit.
The signing came after Kan had earlier announced his decision in August to return the books, some of which date back to the 17th century and include historical records, maps, and poetry. "This year is a milestone time for Japan-South Korea relations," Kan told Lee during their talks, according to Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Tetsuro Fukuyama. With the new pact, "we have built an important foundation for future-oriented Japan-South Korea ties," Kan said, according to Fukuyama. Welcoming the fresh agreement, Lee said: "I hope to further enhance the South Korea-Japan co-operation in this changing time of the 21st century."
In August, Kan issued a fresh apology for Japan's past colonial rule of the Korean peninsula to mark the August 29 centenary of the annexation, a source of bitter tension in the past.