The Japanese Embassy in South Korea held a meeting with Japanese businesses operating in the country related to the Korean Supreme Court ruling ordering a Japanese firm to compensate victims of Tokyo's wartime forced labor.

Kohei Maruyama, a minister at the embassy, reassured the business community during the meeting held at the embassy's public affairs and cultural center in downtown Seoul on Thursday. 

He said the Japanese government puts priority on protecting their economic activities and will firmly handle the situation.

The minister reaffirmed Foreign Minister Taro Kono's statement that the court ruling fundamentally reverses friendship and cooperation ties between the two countries.

He stressed that Japan is watching the Seoul government's measures and reiterated Tokyo's consistent position that the issue of forced labor was completely settled once and for all through the 1965 Korea-Japan agreement.

He said Japan will continue to respond in line with this position.

Around 80 officials of 70 Japanese firms attended the embassy meeting. It's not confirmed whether companies involved in forced labor-related lawsuits also attended.