Japan will hold a memorial ceremony near the Sado Island Gold Mines, which were listed this summer as a UNESCO World Heritage site after the country moved past years of disputes with South Korea and reluctantly acknowledged the dark side of their history.

The Sado mines were listed in July as a UNESCO World Heritage site after Japan moved past years of disputes with South Korea and reluctantly acknowledged the mines’ dark history, promising to hold an annual memorial service for all victims, including hundreds of Koreans who were mobilized to work in the mines.

South Korea’s government says it has decided not to attend a memorial service near Japan’s Sado Island Gold Mines due to disagreements with Japan over the event, which stirred longstanding tensions ov

Japan will go ahead with a memorial ceremony on Sunday near the Sado Island Gold Mines, despite South Korea’s last-minute boycott of the event that highlighted tensions between the neighbors over the issue of Korean forced laborers at the site before and during World War II.

Korean officials skipped Japan's memorial service held near the Sado mine site, Sunday, in an apparent protest against Tokyo’s 'insincerity' in addressing the dark history related to the site, where approximately 1,

South Korea says it will not attend a ceremony in Japan to commemorate victims of forced labor in the Sado Island Gold Mines. This comes as the two nations seek to draw together amid regional threats.

South Korea said Saturday it will not attend a memorial ceremony in Japan honoring forced labor victims, including Koreans, from an old Japanese mine complex, amid controversy over Tokyo's decision to send a senior official with hard-line views on history to the event.