S.Korea urges Japan to face up to history with courage

South Korean President Park Geun-hye urged Japan Sunday to face up to history with courage and sincerity to write a new history as South Korea's future partner for another 50 years.

Park made the remarks during a ceremony marking South Korea's 1919 nationwide uprising against Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule. Fifty years have passed since Seoul and Tokyo forged diplomatic ties in 1965.

"It is high time that (the two countries) write a new history together as a more mature partner (to each other) for the next 50 years, as seen in the case of Germany and France that overcame conflicts and enmity and played leading roles in building a new Europe," said Park.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of South Korea's independence from Japan's colonial rule as well as the 50th anniversary of normalized relations between the two countries.

Park, who was sworn in as the head of state in February 2013, has refused to hold a summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, citing his wrong perception of history.

Abe infuriated Asian neighbors after visiting the notorious Yasukuni Shrine in December 2013, as it honors 14 convicted war criminals during World War Two. He returned to power in December 2012.

South Korea has made efforts to open a new era of the twenty- first century Seoul-Tokyo cooperation since Park took office, but the two countries, despite their geographical proximity, have failed to narrow emotional distances due to conflicts over history, Park said.

Park stressed that the World War Two sex slave issue is a historical task that must be resolved, saying that little time is left for the elderly victims whose age averages almost 90 seeking restoration of honor.

More than 200,000 young women, many of them Koreans, were forced into sex slavery at the Japanese military brothels during the devastating world war triggered by the Japanese militarists. Among the 237 South Korean women who identified themselves as former sex slaves, only 53 are alive.

Park said it would offend the minds of neighboring countries for Japan to try and distort its history textbooks, adding that acknowledging history is the only way to go toward a progressive society. Endi