South Korea's foreign affairs and trade minister on Friday urged Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi not to visit contentious Yasukuni Shrine again, according to a Japanese official.
"South Korea does not think (visiting Yasukuni) is desirable considering the future of East Asia and our mutual prosperity," Ban Ki Moon was quoted as saying by the official. "We hope you will not" make another visit.
But Koizumi said he had visited the shrine, which honors 14 Class-A war criminals along with millions of war dead, to mourn those who lost their lives fighting for the country and with the conviction that Japan will never wage war again, the official said.