Debate over cultural heritage

Culture, Sports & Tourism Minister Kim Jong-deok, right, and Japan’s Education, Culture and Sports Minister Hakubun Shimomura shake hands after a meeting in Yokohama, Japan, Saturday. Kim proposed the establishment of a joint organization to discuss the repatriation of cultural heritage items taken to Japan during the country’s occupation of Korea (1910-1945), but the Japanese culture minister gave no response to the proposal. The government estimates that there are over 20,000 Korean cultural items in Japan. / Yonhap