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.

TOKYO/SEOUL, Nov. 25 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean government held its own ceremony in Japan on Monday to honor Korean forced labor victims from an old Japanese mine complex, after boycotting a Japan-hosted event over Tokyo's apparent insincerity in delivering on its pledge to remember the victims.

South Korea’s decision not to participate in what was envisioned an a moment of reconciliation highlighted the perceived lack of sincerity in Japan’s treatment of historical issues.

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.

South Korea has paid tribute to wartime Korean forced laborers at Japan’s Sado Island Gold Mines in a memorial ceremony

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.