South Korean President Urges Japan to Admit Past Wrongs

President Park Geun-hye of South Korea urged Japan on Sunday to have the “courage and honesty” to admit to its historical wrongdoings against Koreans and other Asians, including its enslavement of Korean women in military brothels during World War II.

“As Germany and France overcame conflict and mutual enmity and became leaders in building a new Europe, it is time for South Korea and Japan to write a new history together,” Ms. Park said in a nationally televised speech. “But despite their geographical proximity, the two nations could not get close in heart because of tensions surrounding historical issues.”

Ms. Park delivered her speech to mark the 96th anniversary of the March 1, 1919, uprising against Japan’s colonial rule of Korea, which lasted from 1910 until Japan’s defeat in World War II in 1945. South Korean leaders have traditionally delivered a speech on March 1, a national holiday, often railing against Japan while urging reconciliation with North Korea.