South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon has stressed the importance of dialogue in resolving current tensions with Japan.  

In a meeting with Keio University students in Tokyo on Wednesday, Lee said every time the two countries displayed differences in opinion over the 1965 Treaty on Basic Relations, they solved them through dialogue. 

Lee also pointed out that the two countries have had differences in interpretation on some parts of the normalization treaty early on, but stressed that South Korea has always abided by it and will continue to do so. 

The South Korean prime minister highlighted Seoul and Tokyo's one-thousand-500-year-long friendship, saying it would be foolish to damage their amicable relations with a history of misfortune lasting less than 50 years, including Japan’s 35-year-long colonial rule of Korea since 1910. 

He also urged young people in both countries to view bilateral relations as free and fair, and see the big picture in engaging each other.