After boycotting one organised by Tokyo, South Korea held its own memorial event on Monday for compatriots forced to work in a Japanese mine during World War Two, highlighting lingering sensitivities between the countries.

SADO, Japan (AP) — Japanese officials on Sunday paid tribute to workers at the country's Sado Island Gold Mines but offered no apology over Japan’s brutal wartime use of Korean forced laborers, highlighting lingering tensions between the neighbors over the issue.

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.

South Korea’s government says it has decided not to attend a memorial service near Japan’s Sado Island Gold Mines due to disagreements with Japan over the event, which stirred longstanding tensions ov

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.

Efforts by South Korea and Japan to hold a joint memorial service near Japa’s Sado Island Gold Mines, where Koreans were forced to work during Japan’s colonial rule, fell apart on Nov. 24 due to disagreements between both governments.

The Korean government held its own ceremony on Monday to honor Korean wartime forced laborers at their former lodgings near Japan’s Sado Mine, following Seoul’s decision to boycott a Japan-hosted memorial held on Sunday.