Briefly

JAPAN

Suga reaches out to South Korea leader

Japan's new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has expressed hopes for improved relations with South Korea in a letter to the country's president, Moon Jae-in, Moon's office said on Monday, amid strained ties over history and trade. Feuds dating to Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea continue to dog bilateral relations, including the issues of Korean laborers forced to work at Japanese firms and women held at military brothels during World War II. The ties further soured after South Korea's Supreme Court ordered a Japanese steel-maker to pay compensation for forced labor in 2018, which prompted Tokyo to impose export curbs on some key high-tech materials. In a letter delivered to Moon, Suga underscored the need for cooperation between the two neighbors, Moon's spokesman said.