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Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said Sunday any future Korea-Japan summits can only happen if Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi stops paying his respects at the Yasukuni Shrine, a bastion of militarism that honors convicted war criminals among the former colonial power¡¯s fallen.
Ban told the Japanese Asahi Shimbun daily it was important for Koizumi to adopt ¡°correct historical views and stop visits to the Yasukuni Shrine" so that President Roh Moo-hyun can visit Japan for a summit.
The minister deplored Koizumi¡¯s repeated visits, which he said ¡°froze the relationship between the two countries." Korea will decide whether to continue the twice-yearly shuttle summits that take place alternately in Korea and Japan based on the situation at the time, he said, and Japanese lawmakers who meanwhile want to meet with leading Korean figures should have no history of worshipping at the shrine.
Ban urged Japan to work toward building an alternative memorial for the war dead, which he said had been agreed at a summit between the countries' leaders in June. But he added a new memorial would be meaningless if Koizumi continues to go to the Yasukuni Shrine.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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