Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Thursday that a new horizon has opened in relations between South Korea and Japan thanks to last week's summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

The March 16 summit significantly warmed the badly frayed relations between Seoul and Tokyo due mainly to South Korea's decision to compensate victims of Japan's wartime forced labor on its own, but the main opposition Democratic Party has strongly denounced the summit as "humiliating."

"Through successful talks between the leaders of South Korea and Japan, a new horizon has opened in relations between the two countries," Han told a meeting on state affairs. "From now on, pending issues between the two nations will be widely discussed, based on a future-oriented cooperative relationship."

Han instructed relevant ministries to come up with follow-up measures over the summit, adding that South Korea and Japan will step up cooperation on global issues in the future. (Yonhap)