South Korea, Japan put security over history with wartime labor proposal

Neighbors pushed toward compromise by North Korean threat, U.S.-China tension

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A South Korean soldier stands guard in the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas. © Reuters

YOSUKE ONCHI, Nikkei Seoul bureau chief

SEOUL -- The new effort at rapprochement between South Korea and Japan comes as the two U.S. allies' eyes are drawn from past wrongs to today's risks of U.S.-China tensions and an emboldened North Korea.

The South Korean government on Monday announced plans to compensate some Korean laborers who worked for Japanese companies during World War II, in an attempt to move on from a damaging row over who should pay.

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