South Korea's foreign minister told Japan bluntly on Thursday that the two countries must look to the future in developing ties amidst a row over a visit by Japan's prime minister to a controversial Shinto war shrine, Reuters reported. "Relations between South Korea and Japan must develop in a forward-looking way, but the people of South Korea are disappointed because Prime Minister Koizumi visited Yasukuni shrine on October 17," Ban Ki-moon said at the start of a meeting in Tokyo with Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura. Ban's initial reaction to Koizumi's visit had been to say he thought it inappropriate to go ahead with his trip to Japan. He later reversed that position, but said on Wednesday that Seoul was considering scaling back ties with Tokyo. "My visit this time was realised in a harsh atmosphere," Ban said on Thursday. "But I have come to discuss with you North Korean nuclear issues and how to make the APEC summit a success." Leaders of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum meet next month in the South Korean city of Pusan.
