South Korean opposition party chief urges Koizumi to stop shrine visit

Visiting South Korean Grand National Party Chairman Park Geun Hye on Wednesday urged Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to stop paying visit to the war-related Yasukuni Shrine.

It is desirable for the Prime Minister to play an active role to resolve the issue of the Yasukuni Shrine in his term, so as to be regarded in the future as a Japanese national leader who has contributed to the development of the South Korea-Japan relations, Park Geun Hye said during a meeting earlier in the day with Koizumi in his official residence.

Park Geun Hye, who arrived in Japan on Tuesday, reiterated on a press conference that the fact that Japan was the inflicter and South Korea was a victim during the Second World War means the hindering problems between the two countries could be addressed if the Japanese side cares about the sentiment of its neighbor.

During talks with Japanese legislators, Park also called on Japanese leaders and politicians to make efforts to build up mutual trust between the two countries so as not to hand on the burden to the descendants.

Park Geun Hye is the eldest daughter of the late South Korean President Park Chung Hee. She will take part in the next presidential election at the end of 2007 as a candidate from the Grand National Party, the biggest opposition party.

Source: Xinhua