韓国大統領「いつでも日本と対話」　三・一独立運動式典で演説

　【ソウル時事】韓国の文在寅大統領は１日、日韓関係について「過去の問題は過去の問題として解決しつつ、未来志向的な発展にさらに力を注がねばならない」と訴え、「いつでも日本政府と対話する準備ができている」と改めて強調した。日本の植民地支配に抵抗した１９１９年の「三・一独立運動」の記念式典で演説した。
　文氏は「不幸な歴史を忘れない」と語る一方で、「１００年が過ぎた今、韓日両国は経済、文化、人的交流などで互いにとても重要な隣国になった」と主張。「韓国の成長は日本の発展に役立ち、日本の成長は韓国の発展に役立った」と過去数十年の日韓の経済協力関係にも言及した。
　さらに「越えねばならない唯一の障害は時に過去の問題を未来の問題と分離できず、未来の発展に支障を招くことだ」と指摘。歴史問題は「被害者中心主義」の立場で解決を模索すると訴えつつ、日韓協力への努力も強調した。ただ元徴用工問題などでの具体的な解決策は示さなかった。（2021/03/01-11:13）

South Korean President Moon Jae-in reiterated Monday that the country is always ready to hold dialogue with Japan.
   "We have to concentrate more energy on future-oriented development (of South Korea-Japan relations) while resolving issues of the past separately," Moon said at a ceremony to mark the 102nd anniversary of the March 1, 1919, independence movement against Japanese colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
   Seoul "is always ready to sit down and have talks with the Japanese government," he said. "I am confident that if we put our heads together in the spirit of trying to understand each other's perspectives, we will also be able to wisely resolve issues of the past."
   Moon said that his country will not forget "the painful history," but that South Korea and Japan, one hundred years after the March 1 incident, have become "very important neighbors to each other" in the areas of the economy, culture and people-to-people exchanges. South Korea's economic growth has helped Japan's advancement, and vice versa, Moon said, adding, "Things will continue in this way going forward."
   The "only obstacle" that the two countries must overcome is that "sometimes, issues of the past cannot be separated from those of the future but are intermingled with each other," Moon said, noting that "this has impeded forward-looking development."