Visiting South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Ban Ki Moon on Wednesday urged Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe to refrain from paying visit to the notorious war-related Yasukuni Shrine.

"It is regrettable that the bilateral relations between South Korea and Japan have been in a grave situation due to history issues, and I asked Mr. Cabinet Secretary to pay special attention to the issues and play a positive role to address them," Ban said.

Ban, who arrived in Tokyo earlier this week to attend the funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, made the remarks during his talks with Abe at Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's official residence, Kyodo News said.

The two ministers agreed that it is necessary for Japan and South Korea to improve the bilateral ties and that the two countries should strengthen cooperation in a facing-the-future manner, Kyodo said.

Source: Xinhua