President Moon Jae-in said Seoul and Tokyo should work towards developing future-oriented relations, apart from resolving historical issues which should be dealt with separately.

At a New Year's press conference on Monday, Moon said the two sides have attempted to resolve the South Korean top court rulings that ordered Japanese firms to compensate Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced labor and Tokyo's retaliatory export curbs.

Moon admitted that his administration is a bit perplexed by a recent Seoul court ruling that ordered Japan to compensate Korean victims of wartime sexual slavery that came amid such efforts.

Recognizing that a controversial 2015 bilateral deal to settle the sexual slavery issue is an official agreement, the president vowed to seek negotiations with Tokyo to find a resolution that would be acceptable to the victims.

As he does not consider liquidating Japanese firms' assets in South Korea to compensate the forced labor victims to be an advisable resolution, Moon said Seoul and Tokyo should find a diplomatic method to appease the victims.