South Korea's President Yoon Suk-Yeol looks on during a tri-lateral meeting with the US President and Japan's Prime Minister on the sidelines of the NATO summit at the Ifema congress centre in Madrid on June 29, 2022. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI / AFP)

SEOUL - South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Monday to improve ties with Japan based on the 1998 declaration adopted by then South Korean president Kim Dae-jung and then Japanese prime minister Keizo Obuchi.

"We must swiftly and properly improve (South) Korea-Japan relations by upholding the spirit of the Kim Dae-jung-Obuchi Declaration which proposed a blueprint of a comprehensive future for (South) Korea-Japan relations," Yoon said in a Liberation Day speech.

The speech was delivered to mark the 77th anniversary of the Korean Peninsula's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.

The declaration stated that South Korea and Japan need to face an unfortunate history with open hearts and build a relationship predicated on mutual understanding and trust

The declaration stated that South Korea and Japan need to face an unfortunate history with open hearts and build a relationship predicated on mutual understanding and trust.

Yoon said that when the two countries move towards a common future and the mission of the times, based on the shared universal values, it will help solve the historical problems in a right manner.

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"The governments and peoples of both countries, based on mutual respect, must contribute to peace and prosperity of the international community through extensive cooperation in various areas, ranging from economic and security cooperation to social and cultural exchanges," Yoon noted.

Japan and South Korea have struggled to maintain healthy political ties for a number of years during the former administrations of Japan's Shinzo Abe and South Korea's Moon Jae-in.

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The two sides had been at odds over a myriad of issues including those pertaining to wartime labor and trade disputes.