South Korean Prez offers condolences to atomic bomb victims ahead of 80th Hiroshima bombing anniversary

Seoul, Aug 5 (IANS) South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday offered his condolences to the Korean nuclear bomb victims, a day before Japan's Hiroshima marks the 80th anniversary of the devastating 1945 atomic bombing of the city.

In a Facebook post, Lee wrote, "I express my deepest condolences and sympathy to the victims of the atomic bombing and their families who were caught in the tumult of history and suffered unimaginable pain in a place that was not their homeland but in a foreign land.

"The two atomic bombs that dropped on Japan 80 years ago claimed countless lives in an instant," he said. "Our fellow Koreans in Japan also endured immense suffering, and the victims and their bereaved families have been suffering for a long time."

He noted that a special law enacted in 2017 to support the Korean victims laid the foundation for practical assistance, but acknowledged that much remains to be done, reports Yonhap news agency.

The government will continue efforts to "heal the scars left by the atomic bombings," Lee said.

Around 50,000 Koreans fell victim to the atomic bombing, including 30,000 killed, after many were brought to Japan to work as forced labourers during its 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, according to the Korea Atomic Bombs Victim Association.

The cenotaph was erected in 1970 with the funding of Korean residents in Japan and was initially located outside the park. In 1999, it was relocated to its current spot at the request of Korean residents and Japanese civic groups.

--IANS

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