South Korea's president says Tokyo must follow up on apologies for its wartime atrocities in the past with actions that reflect true contrition.
In a meeting with visiting Japanese members of Parliament Friday, President Roh Moo-hyun said Japan has "nullified" its previous apologies for World War II era atrocities by its recent actions. His comments referred to Tokyo's approval of a school textbook that minimizes Japan's record of wartime aggression, as well as controversial visits by Mr. Koizumi and other political figures to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, widely seen as a symbol of Japanese militarism.
As long as such actions recur, Mr. Roh says, Seoul will find it hard to accept the sincerity of Japan's words.
Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.