June 08, 2015 12:28
Korea and Japan will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the resumption of diplomatic ties on June 22 despite an icy chill between the two countries.
But whether President Park Geun-hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will attend ceremonies in their capitals remains to be seen.
A senior government official here said on Sunday the scrappy neighbors "may be at a turning point in their relations depending on the rank of officials who attend the anniversary celebrations."
The Korean Embassy in Tokyo and the Japanese Embassy in Seoul have invited several senior officials from the host country.
Abe has long been pushing for a summit with Park, despite his government's continuing lurch to far right and attempts to whitewash Japan's colonial and wartime atrocities. If she agrees to come to the festivities it could signal a new direction in ties.
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