First lady Kim thanks Korean residents in Japan for decades of support

First lady Kim Hea Kyung sat down for tea with a group of women on Tuesday, and her message was simple: thank you.

The women belong to Mindan, the Korean Residents Union in Japan, an association representing Koreans who live there. Kim, wife of President Lee Jae Myung, met its women's division in the afternoon and praised their contribution to South Korea's development.

She said they had worried about the country and lent support when it was in trouble, and cheered more enthusiastically than anyone when it grew. Their enduring love, she said, helped make South Korea what it is today. "We will cherish our gratitude for a long time," she said, welcoming their visit to their home country.

Japan has a large Korean community, partly a legacy of Japan's colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945, when many Koreans moved to Japan for education and work. Earlier this year, in January, President Lee travelled to Nara, Japan, for talks with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.