UNESCO's World Heritage Committee has called on Japan to fulfill an earlier pledge to inform the international community about the forced labor of Koreans on Hashima Island, a site recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2015.

According to Seoul's foreign ministry, the Committee adopted by a consensus on a decision urging Tokyo to engage in dialogue with relevant countries during an extended session held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Thursday.

The Committee said it has verified that Japan has enforced new measures since the previous session, when it had expressed strong regret over Tokyo's lack of efforts to meet its promise to inform the world the "entire history" of the industrial site, including the forced labor of Koreans.

While positively assessing some steps, the committee emphasized the need for Tokyo to continue to fulfill the pledge to reinforce its analytical strategy. It called on Japan to conduct additional research, including related testimonies and to collect more documents.

The Committee requested Japan to submit a report by December 1, 2024 for verification of progress made.

Seoul, in response, said it expects Tokyo to fulfill its previous pledges and to meet the report submission deadline, adding it will continue talks on the matter with Japan and the UNESCO secretariat.