South Korea Announces ‘Historic’ Plan to Compensate Victims of Wartime Forced Labor

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (L) and South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol take part in the ASEAN-Plus Three Summit as part of the 40th and 41st Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summits in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Nov. 12, 2022. Tang Chhin Sothy/AFP via Getty Images

South Korea’s government announced a plan on Sunday that aims to resolve a long-running dispute on compensating Koreans forced to work under Japan’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula between 1910 and 1945.

The move marks a step toward improving ties between the two nations and comes as South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol seeks to bolster relations with Japan amid ongoing concerns regarding North Korea’s ever-increasing nuclear weapons program.