Roundup: S. Korea deeply regrets Abe's offering, politicians' visit to notorious Tokyo shrine

South Korea expressed deep regret and worry on Monday over Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sending a ritual offering to a notorious Tokyo war shrine and a group of Japanese politicians paying respect to the infamous shrine.

Seoul's foreign ministry said in a statement that it expresses deep worry and regret over leaders from the Japanese government and parliament repeatedly making a ritual offering and paying homage to Yasukuni Shrine that glorifies Japan's war of aggression.

The statement urged Japanese politicians to face up to history with courage, calling on them to show humble introspection and sincere repent over the militaristic past with actions to gain trust from neighbor countries.

Abe sent his ritual offering once again to the Yasukuni Shrine, a symbol of Japan's past militarism as it enshrines 14 Class-A convicted war criminals along with millions of war dead, earlier in the day that marks the 71st anniversary of his country's defeat in World War Two.

He reportedly refrained from visiting the war-linked shrine to prevent Japan's relations with China and South Korea from worsening.

In December 2013, Abe drew harsh criticism from neighboring countries as he became the first sitting Japanese prime minister to visit the controversial shrine in seven years. Since then, he has sent offerings or donations.

Scores of Japanese lawmakers from a cross-party group and Japan's Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Hagiuda visited the infamous shrine on Monday morning. Tomomi Inada, Japan's new defense minister who had been widely expected to visit the war shrine, is on her first overseas trip to Djibouti, opting to avoid paying homage to the shrine.

The Korean Peninsula was colonized by the militaristic Japan from 1910 to 1945. Under the colonial rule, Korean people suffered from numerous atrocities and brutalities, including forced recruitment of Korean women as sex slaves for Japanese military brothels and compulsory labor for Japanese munitions factories.

Meanwhile, 10 South Korean lawmakers reportedly visited the easternmost islets of Dokdo, called Takeshima in Japan, to commemorate the 71st anniversary of the peninsula's liberation from the Japanese colonial rule.

Visiting the rocky outcroppings were seven ruling Saenuri Party lawmakers, two main opposition Minju Party members and one member of the casting vote-exercising People's Party.

Japan had allegedly protested against the planned visit through diplomatic channels. Na Kyung-won of the Saenuri Party, who led the visiting lawmakers, was quoted by Yonhap news agency as saying that there would be no problem caused by their visit as it is part of normal parliamentary activities to travel to their own territory.

It marked the first time since Aug. 14, 2013 that a group of South Korean lawmakers made a symbolic visit to the islets, lying halfway between the two nations, to protest against Japan's repeated territorial claims to rocky outcroppings.

Japan's defense ministry laid territorial claims to the islets in its 2016 defense white paper earlier this month, claiming its sovereignty over the islets for the 12th straight year since 2005.

Former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak unexpectedly visited the Dokdo islets in 2012, freezing diplomatic relations with Japan to the worst level.

Seoul has maintained that the islets are their indigenous territory historically, geographically and according to international law.

Following the liberation from the Japanese colonization, the islets have been in effective control of South Korea because security guards have been dispatched there since then. South Korean military has held defense exercises around Dokdo twice a year since 1986. Enditem