Japan says Seoul must fix wartime labor issue that violates international law

Seoul must take swift steps to resolve a dispute over the issue of compensation for wartime forced labour, Japan's Foreign Minister Taro Kono told South Korea's ambassador on Friday, adding that the situation violated international law.

Kono made the comment to Nam Gwan-pyo after summoning him to the foreign ministry, as the neighbours' political and economic row over forced Korean labour during World War Two worsens. Last year, South Korea's Supreme Court ordered two Japanese companies to compensate wartime workers. Japan says the decision violated international law because the issue of compensation was settled under a 1965 treaty.