Japan has decided to recommend mining facilities where Koreans were forced into harsh labor during Japan's colonial rule as a candidate for UNESCO World Cultural Heritage designation.

The Japanese government reached the decision regarding the Sado mine in Niigata Prefecture during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. 

Tokyo plans to submit a letter of recommendation to UNESCO later the same day. The UN body’s decision on whether to grant the designation is set to come next year, around summertime. 

In a press briefing held after the Cabinet meeting, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Japan plans to hold sincere talks with related countries, including South Korea, for the Sado mine to be assessed as a remarkable cultural asset. 

South Korea plans to form a task force composed of government officials and experts from the private sector to stop Japan’s bid.

The Sado mine, which originally operated as a gold mine, was turned into a facility to produce war-related materials, such as copper, iron and zinc during World War Two. Up to one-thousand-200 Koreans are estimated to have been forced into labor at the mine.