1. Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha held a telephone conversation with Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Taro Kono on October 31, during which the two Ministers exchanged the respective positions of the Republic of Korea and Japan on the ROK Supreme Court’s ruling on October 30 regarding victims of forced labor during Japan’s occupation of the Korean Peninsula.

2. Minister Kono articulated the Japanese government's position on the ROK Supreme Court’s ruling, including its concerns over it. Meanwhile, Minister Kang stated that the ROK government, while respecting the decision by the ROK judiciary, and after meticulously reviewing matters related to the ruling and comprehensively mulling over the full range of relevant factors, would draw up next steps.

3. The two Ministers underscored the need for the two countries to continue working together for future-oriented development of the bilateral relations.

* unofficial translation