The pro-Seoul Korean Residents Union in Japan (Mindan) issued a statement Thursday to its pro-Pyongyang counterpart calling for an end to the hostility and resistance between the two groups.
Expressing its condolences on the recent death of Han Tok Su, leader of the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryun), the statement said Mindan hopes Chongryun will now make a new start.
It also alluded to the progress on reunification of the two Koreas that has been made since the historic inter-Korea summit in June.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda also offered his condolences over Han's death but said the government is not considering any official response.
Han, leader of the 200,000-strong Chongryun since it began in 1995, died Wednesday of pneumonia at a Tokyo hospital. He was 94.