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.

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.

SADO, Japan (AP) — South Korea paid tribute to wartime Korean forced laborers at Japan’s Sado Island Gold Mines in a memorial ceremony on Monday, a day after boycotting a similar event organized by Japan, as tensions over historical atrocities continue to impact relations between the two sides.

By Jack Kim SEOUL (Reuters) -After boycotting a memorial event organised by Tokyo, South Korea held its own on Monday to remember compatriots forced to work in a Japanese mine during World War Two, highlighting lingering sensitivities between the key U.