South Korea has slammed Japan's politicians for visiting the war-linked Yasukuni shrine, condemning such trips as evidence that Japan does not acknowledge atrocities committed during World War Two.
Seoul's foreign ministry expressed 'deep concern and regret' over the visits to the Tokyo shrine which is criticized for 'glorifying Japan's wars of aggression and enshrining its war criminals.'
Ministry spokesman Cho Tai-young made the statement on Tuesday, a day after Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se canceled his scheduled visit to Japan in a diplomatic reprisal.
Cho said, 'Japanese leaders, including ministers, must understand why Minister Yun's visit was canceled and how neighboring countries perceive such visits (to the shrine).'
South Korea and China's anger, however, was brushed aside as a nonpartisan group of 169 lawmakers visited the shrine hours after Yun cancelled the diplomatic trip.
[저작권자(c) YTN 무단전재, 재배포 및 AI 데이터 활용 금지]