Japan's top diplomat has called on President Moon Jae-in to "responsibly" address  Japan's forced wartime labor issue. 

According to Kyodo News on Friday, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono told his South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-wha that her ministry does not seem to understand the gravity of the matter.

Kono's statement came after a South Korean foreign ministry spokesperson said there would be "no problems" if the Japanese companies in question comply with court orders to remunerate the victims.

The spokesperson was responding to Kono's previous call for Moon to take responsibility in proposing ways to resolve the issue, which was considered a diplomatic discourtesy.

Kang stressed the importance of "prudent" words and actions while saying Seoul was "reviewing" Tokyo's request to form an arbitration panel involving a third country. 

Japan protested the South Korean Supreme Court's rulings last year that ordered Japanese firms to compensate South Korean victims of forced wartime labor, arguing that reparation issues from its colonial rule were settled by a 1965 treaty.