South Korea urged Japan to uphold commitments it made during the inscription of the Sado mines as a UNESCO World Heritage site after it failed to mention the forced mobilization of Korean workers in a report.
UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee posted Japan’s State of Conservation report on the Sado mines to its website on Monday.
The report was submitted in response to the committee’s request that Tokyo detail the implementation of eight recommendations attached to the site’s inscription in July of last year.
The agency called on Japan to present the site’s "entire history," including the forced labor of Koreans, through on‑site explanations and exhibitions, but the report lacked substantive detail on that aspect.
The foreign ministry said in the statement that Japan has failed to comply with the committee’s order to reflect the full history of the Sado mines on-site, as well as the pledges it made during the inscription process.
The ministry urged Tokyo to honor the committee’s decision and its agreements with Seoul, adding that it will continue dialogue with Japan on the matter.