Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se must have been disappointed with Japan’s blindness to its wartime atrocities disrupting his first outing abroad since taking office, which he might have hoped would kick off his initiative to consolidate partnerships with South Korea’s two key neighbors in resolving nuclear threats from North Korea.

In protest of recent visits by three Japanese Cabinet ministers to a controversial war shrine, the minister Monday canceled his planned trip to Tokyo this week. Yun was scheduled to hold his first meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida during his two-day visit from Friday, which was to follow his trip to China on Wednesday.

According to Seoul officials, Yun had been ready to lay out a “big direction” to be taken by the new governments of the two countries during the meeting with his Japanese counterpart. But the latest visits by Japanese Cabinet members to the Yasukuni shrine, which a South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman called “anachronistic” acts, left no option for the minister but to abandon the trip.

The atmosphere between the two countries became further chilled as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe suggested Monday he would not inherit a statement issued by Tokyo in 1995 to atone for its wartime atrocities and a group of 168 Japanese lawmakers paid tribute to the shrine Tuesday.

It would do no good for Japan’s efforts to assume leading roles in the international community for its leaders to visit the shrine that glorifies Japan’s past militarism and enshrines its Class A war criminals. It was regretful for Tokyo to reiterate that the visits were made in the ministers’ personal capacity and it had no official involvement in their decisions.

A Japanese government spokesman claimed each country has its own position and things such as Yasukuni visits should not affect diplomacy. His remarks appeared to have struck an irrelevant cord as they would hamper Tokyo from building trust with its neighbors, which should be the basis for its external relations. Japanese right-wing leaders are advised to recognize that their repeated acts of turning a blind eye to historical truths will only lead to the deepening of its diplomatic isolation.

The cancellation of Yun’s trip came at a time when Seoul and Tokyo need close cooperation in dealing with dangers posed by Pyongyang. South Korea is set to strengthen coordination with the U.S. and China on how to handle the isolated regime through President Park Geun-hye’s visits to Washington and Beijing. It is somewhat inevitable for Seoul to focus on cooperation with the two giant powers in defusing tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Still, keeping step with Japan is crucial to pressure North Korea to change course. Strengthened ties between Seoul and Tokyo will also be needed to lay the framework for peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia.

In this sense, South Korean diplomatic strategists face a thorny task of taking a far-sighted and strategic approach to Japan to avoid remaining stuck in historical disputes, while keeping principled positions. For its part, Japan is urged to refrain from doing acts that could prompt discord over historical and territorial issues, especially in the upcoming period crucial for resolving the North Korean issue and establishing a peaceful and stable regional order.