Japan plans to return early next month more than 1,200 volumes of ancient Korean royal books it took from the Korean Peninsula during its 1910 to 1945 colonial rule, a diplomatic source in Seoul said Wednesday.
The return of the books, which are expected to arrive in Seoul around Dec. 8, will come nearly a year after Tokyo agreed to do so amid moves by the two nations to improve relations. Early this year, Japan completed its required domestic legal process to return the books by Dec. 10 at the latest.
Last month, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda carried a portion of the books with him when he visited Seoul for summit talks with President Lee Myung-bak.
The books include texts of royal protocols known as "Uigwe," all of which are being kept by the Imperial Household Agency in Tokyo.
Uigwe is a collection of documents from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) that records and illustrates procedures and formalities used for weddings, funerals, banquets and receiving foreign missions, as well as the cultural activities of the royal family.
Relations between South Korea and Japan have often suffered setbacks due to territorial and historical rows related to their colonial past, as Tokyo has attempted to glorify its militaristic history and also lays claim to South Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo. (Yonhap)