Diplomatic quarrel between Tokyo and Seoul over the gold mines of Sado Island

File photo (2019) released by the Japanese Coast Guard on Sado Island.

AFP - HANDOUT

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1 min

For several weeks, South Korea and Japan have been in a diplomatic conflict over the issue of gold mines on Sado Island.

Tokyo has launched a campaign to have its mines recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

But Seoul is offended, because this site used the forced labor of the Korean population during the occupation of the country by Japanese troops.

A historic conflict that does not warm up already strained relations.

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With our correspondent in Seoul,

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 Seoul's accusations sum up the wide gap in views that separates the two capitals.

If the gold and silver mines of Sado, exploited since the 17th century, are the symbol of the industrialization of Japan, they were also the scene of forced labor during the colonial occupation of Korea between 1910 and 1945 .

Some 780,000 Koreans participated willingly or by force in the industrial development of Japan, including 2,000 in the mines of Sado, during the Second World War alone.

And that's why Japanese decision offends Seoul, because Tokyo does not mention victims of forced labor in its application to UNESCO.

Already in 2015, around twenty industrial sites where similar events had taken place had been listed as World Heritage.

This new open conflict between the two American allies in the region comes on top of many historical disagreements, particularly on the issue of “comfort women”.

A euphemism to designate these sexual slaves of the Japanese army during the colonial period.

The United States, for its part, calls on its allies to quickly resolve their differences in order to focus on the threats posed to them by China and North Korea.

►On RFI Savoirs: China-South Korea-Japan, a past that does not pass

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• South Korea

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