Tokyo: South Korean Ambassador to Japan Yun Duk-min said Wednesday that his country will seek to adopt a new joint declaration with Japan as early as next year.

Speaking at a meeting hosted by Jiji Press’ Research Institute of Japan, Yun said the two countries need to issue a forward-looking declaration in 2024, when politics in both countries are expected to be stable, or in 2025, which marks the 80th anniversary of the end of Japan’s colonial rule.

In 1998, then Japanese Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung issued a joint declaration expressing the Japanese side’s “deep remorse and heartfelt apology” for its past aggression. Incumbent South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol is said to respect Kim.

Referring to the 1963 Elysee Treaty between France and Germany, the ambassador said a new Japan-South Korea declaration should be forward-looking and beneficial to the peoples of both countries.

Yun stressed that Japan and South Korea share common values and strategic interests, with their per capita national incomes at similar levels.

As a future challenge, he mentioned the establishment of a “borderless” relationship between the two countries for their economic integration.

JIJI Press