By Yi Whan-woo
Korea and Japan are at odds over Tokyo's bid to register its wartime industrial facilities as UNESCO world heritage sites amid worsening relations between the two nations due to historical disputes.
The government has proposed that Japan consult with others about its campaign to put 23 sites of the Meiji Industrial Revolution on the world heritage list, according to diplomatic sources, Wednesday.
Without elaborating, sources said that the consultation among senior officials from the two countries is expected to take place in Tokyo by the end of this month.
The government's proposal comes after Tokyo took a step to making its bid successful despite Seoul's claims that 59,000 Koreans were forced to labor in seven of the 23 facilities during the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule.
A UNESCO advisory panel, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), recommended the World Heritage Committee (WHC) to accept Japan's proposal Monday.
In its proposal, Tokyo stressed that the 23 sites across eight prefectures are evidence of the rapid industrialization of the first non-Western nation and therefore "a noteworthy event in world history."
It also underscored that the facilities were built in the late 19th century.
According the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the seven controversial sites include shipyards, coal mines and steelworks where Korean laborers were mobilized to produce coal, and build military equipment such as warships and torpedoes.
Among them is the Hashima undersea coal mine off Nagasaki, known as the "Battleship Island."
Japan's Cabinet Secretariat refuted Korea's argument, Monday, claiming the incidents that Seoul sees as problematic instead took place during the Second World War (1939-45), not before 1910.
"What Korea claims to be problems are chronologically and historically unrelated to our historical heritage," it said.
"We expect the WHC to go over the issue with experts and we also ask for Korea's understanding."
The 21-member countries of the WHC, a UNESCO body, will make the final decision over the issue during an annual session in Bonn, Germany, from June 28 to July 8. The members include Korea, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany.
Diplomatic sources speculated that the WHC will accept recommendation made by the ICOMOS.
They cited that it has only disagreed with ICOMOS once over the past 10 years.
They also said Korea is likely to ask Tokyo to consider Auschwitz, a concentration camp during the Holocaust, as a model and mention slave laborers in Japan's campaign.
Auschwitz is listed as one of UNESCO's negative heritages, which are aimed at urging people to remember the dark aspects of history.
"We made clear that Japan's move runs counter to the spirit of the list as Japan tries to gloss over its wartime history by ignoring the toil of the forced laborers," a foreign ministry official said on condition of anonymity. "Seoul plans to do its best to reflect our legitimate concerns based on this stance."
Korea and Japan are at odds over Tokyo's bid to register its wartime industrial facilities as UNESCO world heritage sites amid worsening relations between the two nations due to historical disputes.
The government has proposed that Japan consult with others about its campaign to put 23 sites of the Meiji Industrial Revolution on the world heritage list, according to diplomatic sources, Wednesday.
Without elaborating, sources said that the consultation among senior officials from the two countries is expected to take place in Tokyo by the end of this month.
The government's proposal comes after Tokyo took a step to making its bid successful despite Seoul's claims that 59,000 Koreans were forced to labor in seven of the 23 facilities during the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule.
A UNESCO advisory panel, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), recommended the World Heritage Committee (WHC) to accept Japan's proposal Monday.
In its proposal, Tokyo stressed that the 23 sites across eight prefectures are evidence of the rapid industrialization of the first non-Western nation and therefore "a noteworthy event in world history."
It also underscored that the facilities were built in the late 19th century.
According the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the seven controversial sites include shipyards, coal mines and steelworks where Korean laborers were mobilized to produce coal, and build military equipment such as warships and torpedoes.
Among them is the Hashima undersea coal mine off Nagasaki, known as the "Battleship Island."
Japan's Cabinet Secretariat refuted Korea's argument, Monday, claiming the incidents that Seoul sees as problematic instead took place during the Second World War (1939-45), not before 1910.
"What Korea claims to be problems are chronologically and historically unrelated to our historical heritage," it said.
"We expect the WHC to go over the issue with experts and we also ask for Korea's understanding."
The 21-member countries of the WHC, a UNESCO body, will make the final decision over the issue during an annual session in Bonn, Germany, from June 28 to July 8. The members include Korea, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany.
Diplomatic sources speculated that the WHC will accept recommendation made by the ICOMOS.
They cited that it has only disagreed with ICOMOS once over the past 10 years.
They also said Korea is likely to ask Tokyo to consider Auschwitz, a concentration camp during the Holocaust, as a model and mention slave laborers in Japan's campaign.
Auschwitz is listed as one of UNESCO's negative heritages, which are aimed at urging people to remember the dark aspects of history.
"We made clear that Japan's move runs counter to the spirit of the list as Japan tries to gloss over its wartime history by ignoring the toil of the forced laborers," a foreign ministry official said on condition of anonymity. "Seoul plans to do its best to reflect our legitimate concerns based on this stance."
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